Holger Lutze

Technical University of Darmstadt | TU · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sciences (Dept.13)

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© 2017 (edited) Perfluorinated organic compounds (PFC) are an important group of pollutants, which are difficult to be degraded in conventional water treatment. Even hydroxyl radical based processes are not capable to degrade these compounds. Sulfate radicals can oxidize a group of PFC, i.e., perfluorinated carboxylic (PFCAs) acids. However, inform...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is used for disinfection of water and for pollutant control. Recently it was shown that free available chlorine (FAC) is formed during the oxidation of organic compounds with ClO2. To investigate the moieties in natural organic matter (NOM) responsible for the FAC formation, reactions of ClO2 with phenols and olefins were in...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is used in water treatment for disinfection, pre-oxidation, and recently pollutant degradation. However, there are significant gaps in the knowledge of byproduct formation in ClO2 applications. The mechanisms by which organic compounds react with ClO2 differ vastly with the slightest change in the reaction centre and its adj...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is a very selective oxidant that reacts with electron-rich moieties such as activated amines and thus can degrade specific N-containing micropollutants. N-containing heterocycles (NCHs) are among the most frequent moieties of pharmaceuticals. In this study, the reactions of ClO2 with ritalinic acid and cetirizine, two abunda...

Zusammenfassung Die Jahrestagung der Wasserchemischen Gesellschaft „Wasser 2024“ vom 6. bis 8. Mai in Limburg präsentierte sich als die zentrale deutsche Tagung über die neuesten Erkenntnisse zu allen Themen der Wasserqualität. Profis aus dem Bereich der Wasserchemie, der Wasseraufbereitung sowie Fachleute anderer Disziplinen des Wasserfachs trafen...

Fenton-like processes using persulfate for oxidative water treatment and contaminant removal can be enhanced by the addition of redox-active biochar, which accelerates the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) and increases the yield of reactive species that react with organic contaminants. However, available data on the formation of non-radical or radica...

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are a growing research field with a large variety of different process variants and materials being tested at laboratory scale. However, despite extensive research in recent years and decades, many variants have not been transitioned to pilot- and full-scale operation. One major concern are the inconsistent exper...

This paper presents a methodological approach for the evaluation of the thermal behavior of cementitious porous media with/without integrated latent-heat thermal energy storage (LHTES). To achieve this goal, the Lewis-Nielsen model has been calibrated to predict the insulation properties of mineralized foamed concretes. Two pore-related microstruct...

N-containing organophosphonate antiscalants such as Aminotris (methylene phosphonic acid) (NTMP/ATMP) and Diethylenetriamine penta(methylene phosphonic acid) (DTPMP) are commonly used in reverse osmosis (RO) to prevent scaling, as well as to increase permeate yields. However, the concentrate in RO still contains antiscalants which can cause adverse...

Ozonation of micropollutants strongly depends on the water matrix. Natural organic matter is known to highly affect the hydroxyl radical exposure due to radical promoting and inhibiting effects. Other important matrix components in ozonation are carbonate species which scavenge hydroxyl radicals. However, additional factors such as the formation of...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is an oxidant applied in water treatment processes that is very effective for disinfection and abatement of inorganic and organic pollutants. Thereby phenol is the most important reaction partner of ClO2 in reactions of natural organic matter (NOM) and in pollutant degradation. It was previously reported that with specific r...

Water disinfection during drinking water production is one of the most important processes to ensure safe drinking water, which is gaining even more importance due to the increasing impact of climate change. With specific reaction partners, chemical oxidants can form secondary oxidants, which can cause additional damage to bacteria. Cases in point...

Reverse osmosis (RO) is an advanced technology used to produce potable water from a variety of water sources, including surface water, seawater and wastewater. The yield of the product water from the RO systems is increased by the addition of antiscalants which prevent scaling from calcium and other ions. Removal of antiscalants from RO concentrate...

The present study investigates the reaction of methionine with free available chlorine (FAC) and estimates the usability of methionine as selective scavenger for intrinsically formed FAC in chlorine dioxide-based (ClO 2 )...

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for water treatment are a growing research field with a large variety of different concepts and materials being tested at laboratory scale. However, only few concepts have been translated into pilot- and full-scale operation recently. One major concern are the inconsistent experimental approaches applied across d...

Many aspects of sulfate radical-advanced oxidation processes, particularly under alkaline medium, are largely debatable. Based on the available literature, the possible mechanisms of both activation of peroxydisulfate (PDS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) under alkaline conditions are reviewed. Thereby, several products (SO5²⁻, HO2⁻) are formed present...

The prevalence of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in aquatic environment has expedited scientific and regulatory efforts to retrofit existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The current strategy involves WWTPs upgrading with post-ozonation i.e., ozone (O3) and/or peroxone process (O3+H2O2). Still, ozone-based degradation of OMPs faces several c...

This study systematically investigated the reactions of N -Acetyl-L-tyrosine (NAL tyrosine) and N -Acetyl-L-tryptophan (NAL-tryptophan) with ClO 2 and FAC. NAL-tyrosine and NAL-tryptophan are examples of reactive amino acids included in peptides and...

Ozonation is nowadays a widely used method in drinking water treatment for disinfection and pollutant control. However, transformation products of ozonation can be more toxic than their parent compounds. Therefore, the knowledge of the reaction mechanisms and product formation is essential for a safe application. Different analytical methods such a...

Bromide as an omnipresent matrix component in wastewater can react with ozone to form hypobromous acid (HOBr). This secondary oxidant can subsequently react with micropollutants but also with formed intermediates. Therefore, bromide and especially HOBr can highly influence the formation of transformation products (TPs). This has already been report...

Reaction mechanisms of sulfate radical with bromide and organic substances can be largely altered at elevated temperature in heat-activated persulfate process due to different activation energies. This study investigated kinetics and stoichiometry of bromide oxidation in the heat-activated persulfate process. We postulated that reaction of sulfate...

Micropollutants reach the aquatic environment through wastewater treatment plant effluents. Ozonation, applied in wastewater treatment for micropollutants abatement, can yield transformation products (TP), which might be of ecotoxicological concern. Previous studies on TP formation were mostly performed in ultrapure water. However, the water matrix...

Free available chlorine (FAC) is the most widely used chemical for disinfection and in secondary disinfection; a minimum chlorine residual must be present in the distribution system. FAC can also be formed as an impurity in ClO2 production as well as a secondary oxidant in the ClO2 application, which has to be monitored. In this study, a new method...

Due to the increasing use and high excretion rates, high quantities of the antidiabetic drug sitagliptin (STG) enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In conventional biological treatment, only a moderate removal was achieved, and thus, STG can be detected in WWTP effluents with concentrations in the higher ng/L range. Ozonation is a widely disc...

A GCxGC-MS system was employed with a non-polar × mid-polar column set for the metabolic non-target analysis of Cobetia marina, the model bacteria for marine biofouling. C. marina was treated with ozone to investigate the intracellular metabolic state change under oxidative stress. A minimal inhibitory concentration test was involved to guarantee t...

N-containing heterocycles (NCHs) are largely used as precursors for pharmaceuticals and can enter the environment. Some NCHs have been shown to be toxic, persistent, and very mobile in the environment. Thus, they have received increasing attention in the past years. However, the analysis of these polar compounds in environmental samples is still a...

Oxidative processes frequently contribute to organic pollutant degradation in natural and engineered systems such as during the remediation of contaminated sites and in water treatment processes. Because a systematic characterization of abiotic reactions of organic pollutants with oxidants such as ozonation or hydroxyl radicals by compound-specific...

Cigarette butts (CBs) are the most common littered items in the environment and may contain high amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from incomplete tobacco leave burning. The potential relevance of PAHs stemming from CBs for aquatic systems remain unclear since to date there is no systematic study on PAHs leaching from CBs. Therefor...

Five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds (azoles) belong to potential moieties in complex structures where transformations during ozonation can occur. This study focused on the azole-ozone chemistry of pyrrole, imidazole, and pyrazole as model compounds. Reaction kinetics and ozonation products were determined by kinetic and analyti...

The 8th Late Summer Workshop will discuss the state of research and knowledge on chemical and biological transformation processes and tools for their investigation. It will feature invited lectures of outstanding scientists in this field. Invited Speakers Prof. Dr. Michael Dodd University of Washington, USA "Antibiotic Resistance Gene Fate during...

Peroxydisulfate (S2O82−) is widely applied in environmental remediation and water treatment as an agent for the unselective oxidation of organic contaminants. S2O82− itself is a strong oxidation agent but activation by heat, UV radiation, or metal catalysts forms sulfate radicals (SO4°−), which offer a higher oxidation potential and faster reaction...

The Tai Hu (Tai Lake) is used as a raw water reservoir for approximately ten million inhabitants predominantly in Jiangsu province, China. Algal/cyanobacterial blooms occur frequently in the eutrophic shallow lake and present a challenge for drinking water treatment. Furthermore, occasionally taste and odor (T&O) problems have been reported in drin...

The oxidation of the two anti-estrogenic pharmaceuticals tamoxifen and toremifene with ozone in water was investigated concerning kinetics, reaction pathway, and transformation product formation. For both compounds a high dependency of second order rate constants and products on pH was determined. In case of full protonation of the amine (cation) o...

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has been used as a disinfectant in water treatment for a long time, and its use for micropollutant abatement in wastewater has recently been suggested. Surprisingly, a mechanistic understanding of ClO2 reactions in (waste)water matrices is largely lacking. The present study contributes to this mechanistic understanding by pe...

The endocrine disrupting micropollutant tamoxifen can induce several effects on aquatic organisms. It is introduced into the environment mainly by wastewater treatment plant effluents. To reduce the discharge of micropollutants into surface waters, ozonation can be used as additional wastewater treatment option. For only few transformation products...

The environmental micropollutant sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is susceptible to phototransformation by sunlight and UV-C light which is used for water disinfection. Depending on the environmental pH conditions SMX may be present as neutral or anionic species. This study systematically investigates the phototransformation of these two relevant SMX species...

Ozonation is used as additional wastewater treatment option to remove recalcitrant micropollutants. It also removes the estrogenic activity found in wastewater but not always the anti-estrogenic activity. This can be explained by an incomplete removal of anti-estrogenic micropollutants or by formation of transformation products (TPs) which retain t...

Lately, special attention has been given to veterinary cephalosporin antibiotics due to their broad activity spectrum and significant consumption. Indeed, the determination of hydrolytic and photolytic kinetics provides a better comprehension of the undesired persistence of cephalosporins in aqueous matrices. In this work, the two widely used veter...

The Fenton reaction describes the reaction of Fe(II) with hydrogen peroxide. Several researchers proposed the formation of an intermediate iron-peroxo-complex but experimental evidence for its existence is still missing. The present study investigates formation and life time of this intermediate at various conditions such as different Fe(II)-concen...

The sulfonamide antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a widely detected micropollutant in surface and groundwaters. Oxidative treatment with e.g. ozone or chlorine dioxide is regularly applied for disinfection purposes at the same time exhibiting a high potential for removal of micropollutants. Especially for nitrogen containing compounds such as SM...

Nebivolol (NEB) is one of the top-sold prescription drugs belonging to the third generation of beta-blockers. However, so far, occurrence data in the environment are lacking. Within this study NEB has been found for the first time in effluent samples of wastewater treatment plants in Germany with an average concentration of 13 ng L⁻¹.

Pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine and pyrazine were investigated in their reaction with ozone. These compounds are archetypes for heterocyclic aromatic amines, a structural unit that is often present in pharmaceuticals, pesticides and dyestuffs (e.g., enoxacin, pyrazineamide or pyrimethamine). The investigated target compounds react with ozone with...

Anilines as archetypes for aromatic amines, which play an important role in the production of, e.g., dyestuffs, plastics, pesticides or pharmaceuticals were investigated in their reaction with ozone. Due to their high reactivity towards ozone (1.2 × 105–2.4 × 106 M−1 s−1) the investigated aniline bearing different substituents are readily degraded...

Piperidine, piperazine and morpholine as archetypes for secondary heterocyclic amines, a structural unit that is often present in pharmaceuticals (e.g., ritalin, cetirizine, timolol, ciprofloxacin) were investigated in their reaction with ozone. In principle the investigated compounds can be degraded with ozone in a reasonable time, based on their...

We were able to show the pH dependecy of the kinetics for the reaction of ozone and tamoxifen. Competition kinetic experiments were performed using phenol as competitor at pH 4, 7, and 11. The utilization of methanol was avoided due to possible interferences by radical reactions. At pH 11: kO3,Tamoxifen,pH11 = 1.97*10^8 M-1 s-1 At pH: kO3,Tamoxifen...

Atrazine, propazine, and terbuthylazine are chlorotriazine herbicides that have been frequently used in agriculture and thus are potential drinking water contaminants. Hydroxyl radicals produced by advanced oxidation processes can degrade these persistent compounds. These herbicides are also very reactive with sulfate radicals (2.2-4.3 × 10 9 M - 1...

Sulfate radical (SO4(-)) based oxidation is discussed as a potential water treatment option and is already used in ground water remediation. However, the complex SO4(-) chemistry in various matrices is poorly understood. In that regard, the fast reaction of SO4(-) with Cl(-) is of high importance since Cl(-) belongs to the main constituents in aque...

The impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in China is widely blamed and investigated for its impact on the ecosystem and water quality [1-3]. Water quality in the Yangtze river and its tributaries is therefore of major concern, as in the catchment area of the TGR surface water is commonly used as the raw water source for public water supp...

In this work, the potential of electrochemical oxidation as a tool for the rapid prediction of transformation products in water appearing after ozonation is investigated. These two approaches were compared by choosing the two environmentally relevant model compounds diclofenac and metoprolol and comparison of their transformation products after ele...

Sulfate radical based oxidation is discussed being a potential alternative to hydroxyl radical based oxidation for pollutant control in water treatment. However, formation of undesired by-products, has hardly been addressed in the current literature, which is an issue in other oxidative processes such as bromate formation in ozonation of bromide co...

Trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene are the most common pollutants in groundwater and two of the priority pollutants listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In previous studies on TCE and PCE photolysis and photochemical degradation, concentration ranges exceeding environmental levels by far with millimolar concentrations of TCE and P...

This chapter deals with different treatment options for the removal or degradation of polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC). Adsorption on activated carbon and membrane filtration (nanofiltration and reverse osmosis) belongs to the state-of-the-art methods and effective separate resp. reject fluorinated compounds. Biological degradation and conventional...