Performance of TiO2-Based Tubular Membranes in the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Compounds

Abstract

This work presents the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water with TiO2 and TiO2/Ag membranes prepared by immobilising photocatalysts on ceramic porous tubular supports. The permeation capacity of TiO2 and TiO2/Ag membranes was checked before the photocatalytic application, showing high water fluxes (≈758 and 690 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, respectively) and <2% rejection against the model pollutants sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) and dichloroacetic acid (DCA). When the membranes were submerged in the aqueous solutions and irradiated with UV-A LEDs, the photocatalytic performance factors for the degradation of DCA were similar to those obtained with suspended TiO2 particles (1.1-fold and 1.2-fold increase, respectively). However, when the aqueous solution permeated through the pores of the photocatalytic membrane, the performance factors and kinetics were two-fold higher than for the submerged membranes, mostly due to the enhanced contact between the pollutants and the membranes photocatalytic sites where reactive species were generated. These results confirm the advantages of working in a flow-through mode with submerged photocatalytic membranes for the treatment of water polluted with persistent organic molecules, thanks to the reduction in the mass transfer limitations.

Mo-BiVO4 Photocatalytically Modified Ceramic Ultrafiltration Membranes for Enhanced Water Treatment Efficiency

“…This makes photocatalytic membranes promising candidates for sustainable and efficient water treatment processes. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of photocatalytic membranes in various water treatment applications [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Moreover, the integration of photocatalytic materials into membrane structures can enhance the selectivity and specificity of membranes for particular contaminants, making them suitable for targeted water treatment applications.…”