There are more than 1,000 pesticides used around the world to protect crops against insects, weeds, fungi, and other pests. They play an instrumental role in food production, allowing us to protect crops and increase yields to feed a growing world population. By nature, many pesticides are highly soluble in water such that they can be easily applied to crops. Their functional property makes them highly mobile and persistent, posing a serious threat to humans and our aquatic ecosystems. New regulations are being implemented all over the world to place strict discharge limits on their release. Conventional biological treatments are unable to remove a vast majority of pesticides. Advanced solutions that are efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable are needed to target these micropollutants to comply with new regulations.
In this case study we worked with our international agrochemical company to treat their concentrated wastewater from the production of pesticides and meet their wastewater discharge limits. The goal of this study was to remove persistent pesticides by >80%. Concentrations of over 20 compounds were studies before and after treatment.
Our solution
Oxyle has developed a game-changing wastewater treatment technology for enhanced degradation of a wide variety of highly persistent, mobile, and toxic organic pollutants such as pesticides, PFAS, pharmaceuticals, hormones, industrial chemicals, textile pigments and dyes etc. Our modular plug-and-play reactors are integrated with Oxyle’s novel catalyst and provide decentralized treatments for industrial and municipal effluents, and remediation projects for treatment of contaminated water (groundwater or from soil washing).
Oxyle’s unique oxidation technology relies on the activation of our nanoporous catalyst using highly scalable and cost-effective energy sources such as bubbling, vibrations, flow, stress etc. Upon activation, our catalyst produces large doses of highly reactive and oxidative radicals. This process leads to the degradation and mineralization of organic pollutants, leaving behind safe to discharge water. In addition, our inline sensors and proprietary control mechanisms provide continuous feedback, allowing us to remotely operate and optimize our treatment process to ensure our customers continuously benefit from the highest standards of discharge limits.
Our advantages
– Modular plug-and-play reactors in various sizes that are remotely operated for ease of use
– Treatment reactors that are easy to customize and integrate to suit our customer needs
– Efficient nanocatalyst activated by clean & scalable energy sources at cost-effective rates
– Self-cleaning catalyst endowed with a long cleaning lifespan.
– Fully recyclable catalyst after long-term wear & tear ensures minimal sustainability impact over the entire life cycle of the material.
– Complete and non-selective removal of a vast variety of pesticides in a wide concentration range (100’s of mg/L to µg/L) a non-selective manner.
– Real-time monitoring and control of water treatment to guarantee high quality effluents
– Facile integration of our reactors with conventional pre-treatments such as filtration or biological treatment.
– Modular plug-and-play reactors in various sizes that are remotely operated for ease of use
– Treatment reactors that are easy to customize and integrate to suit our customer needs
– Efficient nanocatalyst activated by clean & scalable energy sources at cost-effective rates
– Self-cleaning catalyst endowed with a long cleaning lifespan.
– Fully recyclable catalyst after long-term wear & tear ensures minimal sustainability impact over the entire life cycle of the material.
– Complete and non-selective removal of a vast variety of pesticides in a wide concentration range (100’s of mg/L to µg/L) a non-selective manner.
– Real-time monitoring and control of water treatment to guarantee high quality effluents
– Facile integration of our reactors with conventional pre-treatments such as filtration or biological treatment.
Results
In this case study, we targeted several pesticides in the industrial wastewater of our agrochemical customer. The treatment process was conducted at room temperature with our catalyst and bubbling as the main energy source.
Table 1 presents the results for some of the pesticides from this case study. The starting concentration of some of these compounds were in the high ppm ranges e.g., for Ametryn (230 mg/L), Atrazine (480 mg/L), Azoxystrobin (217 mg/L), and Metolachlor (315 mg/L) to name a few. After our treatment, we were successful in removing more than 20 highly persistent, mobile, and toxic pesticides using our catalytic technology, non-selectively with a removal rate of 98%. Furthermore, we were also successful in targeting other micropollutants from this wastewater including industrial chemicals and coloured pigments.
If you have any further questions related to your PFAS removal needs, please reach out to our team of experts at mail@oxyle.ch. We will get in touch with you shortly and co-create the best way forward that meets your current and future needs.
