Report Plan:

Understanding:
Waste water treatment is already, and will only continue to be one of the worlds greatest
challenges. New innovative technology has to continue to develop in order to meet growing
demands, whilst being environmentally responsible and economically feasible.
Photocatalytic membrane reactors could be one solution, and this review will examine that
possibility. Photocatalytic reactors are used to oxidise organic compounds into CO2, H2O and
inorganic constituents in treated waste water. Suspending the catalysts can be a problem,
especially at high throughputs. Membrane reactors are often used to select products to
progress through the system, and therefore shift equilibriums. Filtration is also already used
in waste water treatment. Therefore, a hybrid system offers synergistic advantages, where
the catalyst is dispersed on the membrane. Offering many advantages of both systems,
however presenting many different potential configurations of designs and their
shortcomings. Photo catalysts will also require access to UV light, another large challenge.
Is this correct?
Aims/Objectives/Plan:
To look at the advantages and disadvantages of the design of photocatalytic membrane
reactors, and act as a general review of PMR and its current challenges.
This will include:
Membrane types, and testing methods
Catalyst types, with mobilisation considered and how to combine with membranes
Arrangements and configurations of reactors
Industrial applications and challenges
Future projects and outlook
Perhaps identify where in each area decisions are taken and why. Look at the corresponding
options and discuss the pros and cons of each. At each section, the most common solution
or choice is stated and is a natural conclusion of the justified points before. Leaving, by the
end of section 3, a rough view of a general reactor configuration, which can then be
analysed in an industrial environment and see the challenges with bringing this to a larger
commercial market.

Added Info/Things to Ask

Is there examples that we can look at? What is the scope? Is it similar to the papers that we are
reading already? Should I include a section on the previous ways of cleaning water and their
limitations? An in-depth introduction to the scope and importance of this issue. Maybe about
worldwide water consumption and % of that is recycled or something? Stating the urgency of new
technology? Stating what needs to be removed from water, what usually causes problems

Is this very much just like a review/overview/holistic view on PMR? (eg. Quoting experiments and
such things)
How much has to be my thought or critique? Do I take the reader through the methods of
experiments used to find each parameter?
What is flocculation? important processes in water treatment with coagulation to destabilize
particles through chemical reaction between coagulant and colloids, and flocculation to transport
the destabilized particles that will cause collisions with floc Before the reaction Treatment?
Should I also include the methods of pre-treatment?
Should membrane fouling be a section or just part of the comparisons of different membranes?
For Reactor Configurations, does continuous and Batch fall into that statement?
Should I include a section on how to solve the light problem? Or is that configuration? Some have a
light in the reactor, some have a light shining from the top. Can I get inventive with possible ideas?
Iowa Design project: Nitrates in water, filtration system, is this similar?
Having trouble understanding the exact reaction happening see notes.

Is this like the reports that I have used? Same idea? Do you have an example?
Ask if Supervisor will be available over Christmas holidays by email? When is she leaving to go away?
More papers? Any other information? Thinking of scouring through the references of the current
papers (RABBIT HOLE.)

Action Plan:

Action:
Submit Plan of Report
Submit Review of Meeting
Finish Readings
Final semester 1 meeting with supervisor
Writing of Report
First Semester 2 meeting
Finish writing, proof reading
Submit report

Date:
21/10/16
04/11/16
22/12/16
22/12/16
Christmas Holidays
16/01/17
20/01/17
30/01/17

Random:
Membrane types (UV stability;) , Catalyst types (mobilised or immobilised; cake layer density) ,
arrangement/configuration types, How to Scale up to industrial size (solving UV problem), future and
directions of research.

Maybe identify each area which needs decisions, look at the options and discuss the pros and cons
of each. Then make a choice. Continue which the next aspect, and repeat. Until we have a general
design for an ideal/most realistic/most occurring set up in industry and discuss its holistic
advantages and disadvantages.