WATER DECONTAMINATION FOR RURAL AND DISASTER AFFECTED AREAS USING ADVANCED OXIDATIVE METHODS

In earlier work we have shown that the solar disinfection (SODIS) of water using Poly Ethylene Terephtalate (PET) bottles takes four hours under the environmental conditions of Trinidad and Tobago. We have subsequently built and tested a portable Titanium dioxide nanoparticle reactor for decontamination on a larger scale than that possible with bottles. In the experiments described in this work a flexible plastic surface was prepared to serve as the active surface of the reactor thereby making it more portable and easier to transport to rural areas as well as to be more suitable for use following natural disasters. Glass ballotini of average diameter 0.5mm was attached to a plastic surface and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (35nm) deposited on the ballotini by a sedimentation process. E. coli contaminated water placed in the reservoir of the reactor was pumped over this active surface at a rate of 50 L/hr while it was exposed to sunlight. E. coli degradation was rapid, total elimination taking place within 10 to 20 minutes depending on the solar conditions. Keywords: Solar disinfection, decontaminatio