engleski

Geographical Locality and Use of Solar Radiation at Drinking Water Treatment in Republic of Croatia

In specific geographical conditions in Republic of Croatia, e.g. Adriatic islands, Dalmatia, solar radiation could be used for photocatalytic degradation of natural organic matter (NOM) in surface waters and therewith lighten the process of preparing them to the potable water. Specific quality of the geographical locality appears in fact that it is a very attractive tourist destination, especially in period June - September. In this period the drinking water demand is the biggest and, fortunately, the solar radiation, too. So, there is a proportion between the drinking water demand and solar radiation available for the use in drinking water treatment. Solar radiation alone does not have enough energy for sufficient degradation of NOM, but in combination with an adequate photocatalyst the degradation potential of NOM could be observed. The relationship solar irradiance - NOM degradation was experimental followed in Zagreb, Croatia. Titanium dioxide, TiO2, was used as the photocatalyst and the water from the lake "Jezero" at Njivice, Island of Krk, Croatia, was used as model water. It was found that during 2-hours experiment with solar radiation and TiO2 in model water NOM could be mineralised (followed by DOC) up to 25 %, and degraded (followed by absorbance at 254 nm) up to 91%. An estimation of process efficiency for different geographical locations is given, using the published results and estimations for the solar irradiance from Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ). An estimation of operational cost for suggested technological step related to average loss of TiO2 is given, too.

solar radiation; natural organic matter; UV radiation; titanium dioxide; photocatalysis; drinking water; oxidation

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