• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.785-791
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• 2007

The current study evaluated the technical feasibility of the application of titanium dioxide ($TiO_{2}$) photo-catalytic air cleaners for the disinfection of bioaerosols present in indoor air. The evaluation included both laboratory and field tests and the tests of hydraulic diameter (HD) and lamp type (LT). Disinfection efficiency of photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) technique was estimated by survival ratio of bacteria or fungi calculated from the number of viable cells which form colonies on the nutrient agar plates. It was suggested that the reactor coating with $TiO_{2}$ did not enhance the adsorption of bioaerosols, and that the UV irradiation has certain extent of disinfection efficiency. The disinfection efficiency increased as HD decreased, most likely due to the decrease in the light intensity since the distance of the catalyst from the light source increased when increasing the HD. It was further suggested that the mass transfer effects were not as important as the light intensity effects on the PCO disinfection efficiency of bioaerosols. Germicidal lamp was superior to the black lamp for the disinfection of airborne bacteria and fungi, which is supported by the finding that the disinfection efficiencies were higher when the germicidal lamp was used compared to the black lamp in the laboratory test. These findings, combined with operational attributes such as a low pressure drop across the reactor and ambient temperature operation, can make the PCO reactor a possible tool in the effort to improve indoor bioaerosol levels.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.711-717
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• 2019

The application of advanced oxidation for the treatment of oil refinery wastewater under UV radiation by using nanoparticles of titanium dioxide was investigated. Synthetic wastewater prepared from phenol crystals; Power Glide SAE40 motor vehicle oil and water was used. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box-Behnken design was employed to design the experimental runs, optimize and study the interaction effects of the operating parameters including catalyst concentration, run time and airflow rate to maximize the degradation of oil (SOG) and phenol. The analysis of variance and the response models developed were used to evaluate the data obtained at a 95% confidence level. The use of the RSM demonstrated the graphical relationship that exists between individual factors and their interactive effects on the response, as compared to the one factor at time approach. The obtained optimum conditions of photocatalytic degradation are the catalyst concentration of 2 g/L, the run time of 30 min and the airflow rate of 1.04 L/min. Under the optimum conditions, a 68% desirability performance was obtained, representing 81% and 66% of SOG and phenol degradability, respectively. Thus, the hydrocarbon oils were readily degradable, while the phenols were more resistant to photocatalytic degradation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.58-62
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• 2010

CNT-$TiO_{2}$ nano complexes were prepared from $TiOSO_4$ and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) by hydrolysis. The CNTs were dispersed uniformly with anatase $TiO_{2}$ in the prepared $TiO_{2}$-CNT complexes. The increasing MWCNT ratio leads to increased crystalline carbon and O/Ti ratio. The decomposition degree of methylene blue was experienced according to UV radiation time for study adsorption and photocatalytic activity. The samples having high MWCNT ratio show high adsorption and photodegradation. The high specific surface area, functional group having oxygen, low band gap energy, high electric conductivity, high volume to surface ratio, uniform structure and properties of MWCNT assist photocatalytic activity of CNT-$TiO_{2}$ complex.