Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater using different nanomaterials immobilized on polymeric beads
Rasha A. Elkholy, E. M. Khalil, A.B. Farag, Moustafa M. Abo El-Fadl, Abdel Hameed M. El‐Aassar
Abstract
ABSTRACT The present study is concerned with the photocatalytic degradation process to eliminate the organic pollutants. Sodium alginate (SA) was used as a polymeric substrate and prepared as beads form to increase the surface area and enhance the efficiency of the photocatalytic process. SA beads were doped with TiO 2 with or without different nanomaterials such as ZnO, SiO 2 , and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Mixing of TiO 2 with these nanomaterials was achieved to extend the wavelength range to the visible wavelength region. Methyl orange (MO) was used as an example of organic pollutants in the photocatalytic process using the batch photo-reactor. The photocatalytic process was executed by using ultraviolet or sunlight beams. The characterizations of the different types of prepared beads were examined using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermos-gravimetric analysis. Also, the effect of different parameters on the photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared nanomaterials was studied. The results showed that SA beads doped with TiO 2 were able to degrade 97.9% under ultraviolet light, while in case of using SA beads doped with mixture of TiO 2 and SiO 2 were able to degrade 73.5% under sunlight after 5 h.