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A bench-scale flow-through photocatalytic reactor using light emitting diodes (LED) as light source and a TiO2 nanotube array (TN) as immobilized catalyst has been designed, fabricated and tested on commonly studied contaminants. The photoreactor is comprised of 144, 365-nm UV-LED lamps mounted along the inner periphery of an annular cylinder. An ordered array of TN, as catalyst, was immobilized by electrochemical anodization of a titanium cylinder and placed in the center of the reactor. Synthesized TN was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Laboratory investigations were conducted on the photoreactor to treat 4-chlorophenol (4-CP), atrazine and methylene blue. The performance of the photoreactor at different flow rates and at varying distances of photocatalyst from the light source was monitored. The photocatalytic reaction rates increased with bubbling oxygen into the reservoir. Significant improvement was observed when H2O2 was added and degradation to detection limits was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a novel light source, is reported for the photocatalytic degradation of four known pesticides [2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), 4-chlorophenol (4-CP), and 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP)] in aqueous solution. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid was further chosen to evaluate the impact of photocatalyst loading and light intensity on the degradation rate. The degradation of 2,4-D under LED irradiation (365 nm) was compared with that using mercury discharge lamp irradiation (350 nm). Irradiation of the different pesticides with a 365-nm LED light source led to their complete mineralization upon prolonged exposure. The degradation rate was slower when mixtures of pesticides were used because of competition between pesticide molecules for adsorption sites, hydroxyl radicals, and holes. A suitable photocatalyst loading was determined to be of ; a linear relationship between the first-order kinetic rate and light intensity (2.7 to approximately 46.5 mW) was observed. A comparison between LEDs and conventional mercury discharge lamps indicated that the former was more energy-efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a cross-section of TiO2 compositions for which existing evidence suggests the prospect of improved performance compared to standard Degussa P25. In the context of a program aimed toward a 365 nm LED based photo-reactor, the question is whether a distinctly superior photocatalyst composition for drinking water treatment is now available that would shape design choices. An answer was sought by synthesizing several photocatalysts with reported high reactivity in some context in the literature, and by performing photocatalysts reactivity tests using common pollutants of water system including Natural Organic Matter (NOM) and Emerging Contaminants (ECs) from the pesticide and pharmaceutical classes. 365 nm Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) were used as the irradiation source. Since LEDs are now available in the UV, we did not examine the TiO2 modifications that bring band gap excitation into the region beyond 400 nm. The results suggest that the choice of the photocatalyst should be best made to fit the reactor design and photocatalyst mounting constraints such as mass transport, reactive surface, and light field. No photocatalyst composition overall, superior for all classes emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic routes to dechlorinate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have considerable potential for development. This paper describes efficient dye-photocatalyzed processes which can be driven by long wavelength light sources including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fluorescent lamps, and quite probably sunlight. The reduced form of methylene blue (MB), leuco-methylene blue (LMB), has previously been found to photoinduce dechlorination of chloroaromatics with an electron transfer from its triplet excited state. Sodium borohydride, used in this case is an efficient sacrificial reductant, which can maintain LMB as the major species in competition with air oxidation of LMB to MB. There is also evidence that it plays a further (chain reaction) role in promoting the LMB photodechlorination process as well. The generality of the photoelectron transfer from reduced members of the phenothiazine dye family is demonstrated with phenothiazine and leuco-methylene green when a wavelength (UV) is chosen to produce the highly reductive triplet. It is likely that dechlorination can be initiated by many triplet excited states with adequate reduction potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the relative efficiency of four forms of supported titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a photocatalyst to degrade 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in Killex®, a commercially available herbicide was studied. Coated glass spheres, anodized plate, anodized mesh, and electro-photocatalysis using the anodized mesh were evaluated under an ultraviolet – light-emitting diode (UV-LED) light source at λ = 365 nm in a semi-passive mode. Energy consumption of the system was used to compare the efficiency of the photocatalysts. The results showed both photospheres and mesh consumed approximately 80 J/cm3 energy followed by electro-photocatalysis (112.2 J/cm3), and the anodized plate (114.5 J/cm3). Although electro-photocatalysis showed the fastest degradation rate (K = 5.04 mg L−1 h−1), its energy consumption was at the same level as the anodized plate with a lower degradation rate constant of 3.07 mg L−1 h−1. The results demonstrated that three-dimensional nanotubes of TiO2 surrounding the mesh provide superior degradation compared to one-dimensional arrays on the planar surface of the anodized plate. With limited broad-scale comparative studies between varieties of different TiO2 supports, this study provides a comparative analysis of relative degradation efficiencies between the four photocatalytic configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A comparative study on the photocatalytic activities of four different catalysts, P-25 TiO2, TiO2 nanofibers, tin-doped TiO2 nanofibers under UV light irradiation at 350nm, and coumarin (C-343) coated TiO2 nanofibers at 436nm light emitting diodes (LED) is reported. Catalysts performance has been compared based on their reflectance spectrum and activity. A common water contaminant 4-chlorophenol was used as a substrate to compare the activity of the different catalysts under both direct and dye sensitized conditions. Results indicated that amongst the four different catalysts the activity of P-25 was the highest. However the activity of C-343 coated TiO2 nanofibers in the LED (436nm) based reactor was competitive. Identification of reaction intermediates implied that the reaction pathways under UV (band gap) and visible (dye sensitized) irradiation were different. Nonetheless, ring opening took place in all reactions with both maleic and dihydroxymaleic have been identified as intermediates. The study indicates that ordered arrays of TiO2 irradiated by panels of arrays of low cost high intensity LEDs might be used for the design of reactors. The near monochromaticity, long life, and operation under direct currents are advantages of using LEDs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]