Use of coaxial photocatalytic reactor (CAPHORE) in the TiO2 photo-assisted treatment of mixed E. coli and Bacillus sp. and bacterial community present in wastewater

Of the bacterial community present in partially treated wastewater, E. coli appears to be more sensitive to the treatment than Enterococcus sp., coliforms (other than E. coli), and Gram-negative (other than coliforms). After photocatalytic treatment, no bacterial recovery of previous groups was observed for 24 h in the dark. However a very low bacterial inactivation rate was observed for the whole bacterial population present in wastewater and detected by non-selective media. The effective disinfection time (EDT), the time necessary for total inactivation of bacteria without re-growth in a subsequent dark period referenced at 24 h (or 48 h), was reached only for Enterococcus sp., and coliform groups. EDT24 was not reached for the whole population.