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Abstract: Contamination of groundwater by methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), that is detected in wastewater of petrochemical industry, is an increasing problem to water supply companies. The subjects of this research were the methods of photolytic, photocatalytic and microbiological degradation of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) dissolved in wastewaters. The effects of concentrated solar radiation simulated with sodium lamp (SONT UV 400) have been investigated in laboratory experiments. Our result indicated that bacteria Pseudomonas strain CY, isolated from the kerosene, and added alone, was able to gradually degrade MTBE and to decrease its concentration for 93.6% in 12 h. However, the percentage of photolytic degradation decrease in only 4 h was 99.2%. By adding Pseudomonas strain CY after 4 h of light treatment, the degradation was enhanced to 99.55% in additional 5 h. The photocatalytic process was performed in slurry-catalyst reactor with different concentrations of TiO2 catalyst: 5, 0.5 and 0.25 g/L. The MTBE degradation producing carbon dioxide reached 91% in only 150 min, when 5 g/L of catalyst was used. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increasing use of the Earth's natural resources has generated increasing disposal of waste products and contamination of the environment. Many of these products are organic chemicals. Characteristic examples of waste products in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and soil are insecticides, herbicides and pesticides used to protect crops, accidental leakages and spills, and the continual discharge of waste by products in effluent streams from petrochemical and essential industries. To purify these contaminated atmospheres, hydrosphere and soil a procedure and process has been developing with minimal specific consumption energy from a renewable energy source. This paper will provide a survey and analysis of the parameters, thermal efficiency and conversion energy in the use of solar energy in the photochemical and photocatalytic degradation processes of organic effluents. As a consequence of the use of solar energy in the degradation of these effluents, a conceptual solution of a technical-technological and photocatalytic process is given for effluents which are located in watercourses and soil in Yugoslavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]