A continuous flow packed bed photocatalytic reactor for the destruction of 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin utilising pelletised TiO2

• Development and evaluation of novel continuous flow packed bed photocatalytic reactor.
• Photocatalytic removal of 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin from aquaculture water.
• Testing of laboratory and environmental (fish farm) samples.
• Removal of compounds to below human taste and odour threshold.
• Successful scale up and assessment of prototype reactor.

Taste and odour compounds, especially geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), cause major problems in both drinking water and aquaculture industries world-wide. Aquaculture in particular has experienced significant financial losses due to the accumulation of taint compounds prior to harvest resulting in consumer rejection. UV–TiO2 photocatalysis has been demonstrated to remove GSM and 2-MIB at laboratory scale but the development of a continuous flow reactor suitable for use in water treatment has not been investigated. In this study, a pilot packed bed photocatalytic reactor was developed and evaluated for water treatment with both laboratory and naturally tainted samples. A significant reduction of both 2-MIB and GSM was achieved in both trials using the packed bed reactor unit. With the laboratory spiked water (100 ng L−1 of each compound added prior to treatment), detectable levels were reduced by up to 97% after a single pass through the unit. When the reactor was used to treat water in a fish farm where both compounds were being produced in situ (2-MIB: 19 ng L−1 and GSM: 14 ng L−1) a reduction of almost 90% in taint compounds was achieved. These very encouraging promising results demonstrate the potential of this UV–TiO2 photocatalytic reactor for water treatment in fish rearing systems and other applications.

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