Optimization of process parameters during photocatalytic degradation of phenol in UV annular reactor

Abstract

A B S T R A C TIn this work, photocatalytic oxidation of aqueous phenol solution was carried out in a novel UV-irradiated annular reactor in the presence of TiO 2 catalyst. The photocatalytic experiments were conducted by varying the flow rates (5, 7.5, and 10 LPH), substrate-to-catalyst ratios (0.083, 0.5415, and 1), and solution pH (3, 6, and 9). In each case, the demineralization of phenol in aqueous was investigated after an operating time of 3 h. The influence of each parameter on phenol degradation was thoroughly investigated and reported. The strategy consisted of several steps, such as selection of the variables and their experimental domain, use of a screening design to detect significant variables and interactions into the experimental region, study of the main effect of variables and interactions, and finally application of a Draper-Lin small composite design (orthogonal) to obtain the optimum values of the significant variables leading to high conversion of phenol. Efficiency of phenol degradation was found to decrease with increase in substrate to TiO 2 ratio. The flow rate and solution pH were found to affect the degradation appreciably. Kinetic study of the photocatalytic reaction revealed that phenol degradation could be well explained using Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. In dilute solution, the degradation was found to follow a pseudo-first-order model. The apparent rate constant was determined and reported.

Photocatalytic degradation of industrial pulp and paper mill effluent using synthesized magnetic Fe 2 O 3 -TiO 2 : Treatment efficiency and characterizations of reused photocatalyst

“…At acidic conditions, Fe 2 O 3 -TiO 2 catalyst surface carried a net positive charge, while the organic pollutants were negatively charged. This promoted better adsorption, which led to higher photodegradation efficiency (Bhattacharjee et al, 2015). Similar findings were reported by Hassan et al (2016) that the removal of organic pollutants using photocatalysis was favourable under acidic conditions as compared to neutral or alkaline conditions.…”

Efficiency of natural clay and titania P25 composites in the decolouring of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions: dual adsorption and photocatalytic processes

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Solvothermally Grown Oriented WO3 Nanoflakes for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Pharmaceuticals in a Flow Reactor

“…Experimental data were fitted using a pseudo-first order (PFO) (1) kinetic equation. In the literature, many cases of pseudo-first order photocatalytic decomposition of organic compounds at similar concentrations in a flow reactor are reported [45,46]. In Table 2, the results obtained from both batch and flow experiments are shown.…”