Michigan Technological University
Environmental Engineering Seminar
October 14, 2013
Chemistry of Free Radicals from
Scientific Understanding to Engineering Application
Presented by
Daisuke Minakata
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Abstract:
Free radical induced reactions are ubiquitous in biological systems, natural environments and
engineered systems. Over the past decades, researchers have studied the biological cell
damages from reactive oxygen species, the fate of atmospheric contaminants and aerosols
through numerous radical species, photolysis in the surface waters, and the aqueous phase
radical-involved reaction mechanisms for the chemical oxidation of water and wastewater. This
talk focuses on the aqueous phase radical-involved reactions that are applied for the removal of
surrogate organics and contaminants in engineered system. I will discuss reaction pathway and
associated reaction rate constants based on our past experimental and theoretical studies. I
will also address implications and applications for sustainable water treatment and energy
harvesting technologies.