Chemical input -free advanced oxidation for water treatment

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Angelo de Mul (left) of PureBlue and Tiret Dewnarain of HPNow (photo: PureBlue/HPNow)

Removal of micropollutants

Within the water treatment sector there is a growing demand to remove micropollutants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and persistent industrial chemicals such as PFAS. These pollutions are not only present in low concentrations, but often are also very hard to remove with water treatment units that use conventional oxidation, such as Ozone or UV-light only.

UV-light can break down certain pollutants but it becomes much more effective when the UV-light is used in combination with highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. Such OH-radicals can be applied by dosing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The UV-light converts the peroxide into OH-radicals.

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HPGen unit that uses electrolyse to produce peroxide on-site from air and water. (photo: HPNow)

Peroxide made simple

The breakthrough by PureBlue and HPNow is the fact that their new water treatment technology produces the hydrogen peroxide. Compared to other AOP-systems this means that there is no need for a peroxide dosing unit anymore. 

HPNow has a patented technology to produce hydrogen peroxide onsite using electricity, water and air. While it has been tried in the past to produce peroxide through electrolyse, HPNow claims to be the first to achieve the high conversion efficiencies required to commercialize the solution.

This proposition strongly appealed to Netherlands-based water technology provider PureBlue. By combining an HPGen system together with PureBlue’s UV chamber, chemical-input free UV – Peroxide AOP breakdown of trace organic compounds can be achieved for the first time.

First results

After several months of testing the combination of the HPGen on-site generator and PureBlue’s UV has proven to be as effective, and at times more effective, compared to bulk peroxide. 

General Manager Angelo de Mul at PureBlue comments: ‘The combination enables a much safer and reliable advanced oxidation process, with reduced costs in labor, infrastructure, and chemical inputs. These represent great benefits to our customers and partners.’

HPNow’s Director of Products, Arnau Verdaguer, noted: ‘We are very pleased to collaborate with PureBlue on this project, which represents an important milestone for HPNow, showcasing the benefits of our patented HPGen technology in addressing an area of growing global concern regarding the trace of organic compounds in our water systems.’