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Photocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents using immobilized TiO2 in a solar pilot plant

Authors :
Sixto Malato
Silvia Suárez
M. Ignacio Maldonado
Benigno Sánchez
N. Miranda-García
Juan M. Coronado
Source :
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. 103:294-301
Publication Year :
2011
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2011.

Abstract

This article reports on degradation using TiO2 immobilized on glass spheres of 15 emerging contaminants (ECs) at low concentrations in simulated and real Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWTP) effluents. A sol containing titanium isopropoxide, commercial P25 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was prepared, and a layer of the photoactive precursor was immobilized on glass spheres by dip-coating. The raw materials and the xerogels were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, XRD and TGA-DTA. The xerogel showed the TiO2 anatase, rutile and brookite crystal phases characteristic of the reference materials. The diffraction pattern showed no modification of the crystal size from incorporation of the PEG. Two different TiO2 anatase crystal sizes were identified, which was attributed to the different TiO2 precursors used in the synthesis route. Degradation of the emerging contaminants (acetaminophen, antipyrine, atrazine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, flumequine, hydroxybiphenyl, ibuprofen, isoproturon, ketorolac, ofloxacin, progesterone, sulfamethoxazole and triclosan), at an initial concentration of 100 μg L−1 each was determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC-UV) and mineralization was monitored by measuring the dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The experiments were performed in a pilot compound parabolic collector (CPC) solar plant at the Plataforma Solar of Almeria (Spain). 85% of the compounds were degraded within 120 min of illumination time depending on the water. The results show the potential application of this technology as a good alternative to suspension systems for the treatment of polluted water.

Details

ISSN :
09263373
Volume :
103
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........3c7807c23d8b937b83caf230c45f68cd
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.030