Plug Flow Reactor for Water Treatment
Lab-Scale PFR system using layered media and gravity-fed flow to model contaminant transport.
Objectives and Design
Goal: Model and optimize contaminant transport for realistic groundwater flow scenarios.
Key Transport Mechanism Studied:
Advection - contaminant transport with bulk flow.
Dispersion - gradient-driven spreading.
Diffusion - molecular-scale random movement.
Development Phases
Phase 1: Baseline Transport Model
System: Dual 2-L bottles, sand-packed medium, siphon-based flow control.
Testing: Yellow #5 dye tracer, absorbance measured at 595 nm.
Outcome: <5% removal efficiency, with irregular flow patterns and breakthrough spikes.
Phase 2: Enhanced Remediation Design
Multi-Layer Media
Sand (7.6 cm) - mechanical filtration
Fine activated carbon (7.6 cm) - adsorption
Charcoal pellets (5.6 cm) - degradation support
System Improvements: Gravity-fed flow (100 mL/min), precision pulse, dye injection, meth-cloth interfaces.
Performance: Controlled breakthrough, 0.7 mg output mass, 84% removal efficiency
Technical Highlights
Innovations
Graduated particle media for improved contact time
Dual-carbon system (fine + pellet) for adsorption and degradation
Gravity-fed hydraulic design for flow stability.
Analytics:
Spectrophotometric quantification at 595 nm
Beer-Lambert Law calculations
Mass balance & duplicate sampling for validation
Engineering Impact & Applications
Use Cases: Groundwater remediation, industrial wastewater, site restoration, and modular water treatment plant integration.
Significance: Demonstrated the viability of activated carbon PFRs as a const-effective alternative to conventional sand filtration, with scalability for field applications.
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