Removal of pesticides from water combining low pressure UV photolysis with nanofiltration

• The potential of a sequential treatment to remove pesticides from surface water was tested.
• The integrated process include UV direct photolysis and nanofiltration processes.
• Removal of pesticides and estrogenic activity as well as the formation of by-products were assessed.
• The combined system allows the production of water with higher quality than individual processes.

The combination of low pressure ultraviolet photolysis and nanofiltration proved to be extremely efficient for the treatment of drinking water since several emerging pesticides spiked in surface water were found to be highly removed. The concentration of the by-products formed and estrogenic activity of the nanofiltration permeate was found to be always very low during operation, showing that the by-products formed during photolysis were efficiently retained by the nanofiltration process. Moreover, the need to further treat/dispose the retentate and the respective costs are also likely to decrease. The combined process is promising to remove the selected micropollutants and formed by-products while reducing the chlorine doses needed to achieve water disinfection, therefore decreasing also the formation of disinfection by-products.

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