• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.27.2-27.2
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• 2008

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.11-28
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• 2014

Advanced oxidation processes using UV and catalysts like $TiO_2$ and ZnO have been recently applied for the photocatalytic degradation of MTBE in water. Attempts have been made to replace the UV radiation by the solar spectrum. This review intends to shed more light on the work that has been done so far in this area of research. The information provided will help in crystallizing the ideas required to shift the trend from UV photocatalysis to sunlight photocatalysis. The careful optimization of the reaction parameters and the type of the dopant employed are greatly responsible for any enhancement in the degradation process. The advantage of shifting from UV photocatalysts to visible light photocatalysts can be observed when catalysts like $TiO_2$ and ZnO are doped with suitable metals. Therefore, it is expected that in the near future, the visible light photocatalysis will be the main technique applied for the remediation of water contaminated with MTBE.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 2015

A composite material was tested to eliminate phenol in aqueous solution combining adsorption on activated carbon and photocatalysis with $TiO_2$ in two different ways. A first implementation involved a sequential process with a loop reactor. The aim was to reuse this material as adsorbent several times with in situ photocatalytic regeneration. This process alternated a step of adsorption in the dark and a step of photocatalytic oxidation under UV irradiation with or without $H_2O_2$. Without $H_2O_2$, the composite material was poorly regenerated due to the accumulation of phenol and intermediates in the solution and on $TiO_2$ particles. In presence of $H_2O_2$, the regeneration of the composite material was clearly enhanced. After five consecutive adsorption runs, the amount of eliminated phenol was twice the maximum adsorption capacity. The phenol degradation could be described by a pseudo first-order kinetic model where constants were much higher with $H_2O_2$ (about tenfold) due to additional ${\bullet}OH$ radicals. The second implementation was in a continuous process as with a fixed bed reactor where adsorption and photocatalysis occurred simultaneously. The results were promising as a steady state was reached indicating stabilized behavior for both adsorption and photocatalysis.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.261-277
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• 2013

The degradation of alachlor has been investigated using sonolysis (US), photocatalysis (UV) and sonophotocatalysis (US/UV) using three photocatalyst viz. $TiO_2$ (mixture of anatase and rutile), $TiO_2$ (anatase) and ZnO. The effect of photocatalyst loading on the extent of degradation of alachlor has been investigated by varying $TiO_2$ (both types) loading over the range of 0.01 g/L to 0.1 g/L and ZnO loading over the range of 0.05 g/L to 0.3 g/L. The optimum loading of the catalyst was found to be dependent on the type of operation i.e., photocatalysis alone or the combined operation of sonolysis and photocatalysis. All the combined processes gave complete degradation of alachlor with maximum rate of degradation being obtained in the case of sonophotocatalytic process also showing synergistic effect at optimized loading of photocatalyst. About 50% to 60% reduction in TOC has been obtained using the combined process of sonophotocatalysis depending on the operating conditions. The alachlor degradation fitted first order kinetics for all the processes under investigation. It has been observed that the $TiO_2$ (mixtrure of anatase and rutile) is the most active photocatalyst among the three photocatalysts studied in the current work. The effect of addition of radical enhancers and scavengers on sonophotocatalytic degradation of alachlor has been investigated in order to decipher the controlling mechanism. The alachlor degradation products have been identified using LC-MS method.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.31-37
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• 2011

This study investigated on the adsorption and photocatalysis of Reactive Black 5(RB5) by the hydroxyapatite(HAP)/Titanium dioxide($TiO_{2}$) media. The adsorption of RB5 on $TiO_{2}$, HAP and $TiO_{2}$/HAP was investigated during a series of batch adsorption experiments. The amounts adsorbed at equilibrium were measured. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were tested for their applicability. The result of equilibrium studies of $TiO_{2}$, HAP and $TiO_{2}$/HAP adsorbent were found to follow Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorbed amounts(Qmax) were found to be 5.28mg/g on single $TiO_{2}$, 12.45mg/g on single HAP and 9.03mg/g on $TiO_{2}$/HAP, respectively. The experimental data were analysed using the pseudo-first-order adsorption and photocatalysis kinetic models. According to these models, RB5 degradation by $TiO_{2}$/HAP was affected by interaction effect of photocatalysis and adsorption.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2011

Photocatalysis is a photochemical catalytic reaction which is a highly promising tool for the environmental cleanup process. It is very effective in treatment of environmental pollutants by its unique redox property. It has wide applications in the treatment of atmospheric pollutants (e.g., nitrogen dioxide, trichloroethylene, volatile organics, hydrogen sulfide, benzene, etc) through oxidative removal and by disinfection (aeromicro flora). In this research, the fundamental aspects of photocatalysis are described with respect to the composition of catalysts, experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, duration, etc), and interfering factors (e.g., catalyst deactivation).

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2001

This study contains the photocatalytic degradation of methyl-tert-butyl ether(MTBE), one of water-contaminating substances, into $CO_2$. Herein was investigated factors, kinetics, and reaction pathways related with MTBE degradation. This works is possible to be applied in the field of environmental remediation such as undergroundwater purification with optimized system configuration in the near future.

• Carbon letters
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.214-224
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• 2007

The field of photocatalysis is one of the fastest growing areas both in research and commercial fields. Titanium dioxide is the most investigated semi-conductor material for the photocatalysis applications. Research to achieve $TiO_2$ visible light activation has drawn enormous attentions because of its potential to use solar light. This paper reviews the attempts made to extend its visible photocatalytic activity by carbon doping. Various approaches adopted to incorporate carbon to $TiO_2$ are summarized highlighting the major developments in this active research field. Theoretical features on carbon doping are also presented. Future scenario in the rapidly developing and exciting area is outlined for practical applications with solar light.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.822-828
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• 2005

The photocatalytic degradation of methyl parathion was carried out using a circulating $TiO_2$/solar system. Under the photocatalytic condition, parathion was more effectively degraded than by the photolysis or $TiO_2$ only condition. The parathion degradation followed pseudo first-order kinetics. With photocatalysis, 10 mg/L parathion was completely degraded within 90 min with a TOC decrease exceeding 63% after 150 min. The nitrogen from parathion was recovered mainly as ${NO_2}^-$, ${NO_3}^-$, and ${NH_4}^+$, 80% of sulfur as ${SO_4}^{2-}$, and less than 5% of phosphorus as ${PO_4}^{3-}$ during photocatalysis. The organic intermediates 4-nitrophenol and paraoxon were also identified, and these were further degraded. Two different bioassays using V. fischeri and D. magna were employed to measure the toxicity reduction in the solutions treated by both photocatalysis and photolysis. Relative toxicity was reduced almost completely after 150 min in both organisms under the photocatalysis, whereas in photolysis, 76 and 57% reduction was achieved for V. fischeri and D. magna, respectively. The acute toxicity reduction pattern corresponded with the decrease in parathion and TOC concentrations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.927-932
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• 2009

Toxic and recalcitrant organic pollutants in wastewaters can be effectively treated when advanced oxidation and biodegradation are combined, ideally with intimate coupling, in which both processes occur simultaneously in the same system. One means to achieve intimate coupling is to coat nanoscale $TiO_2$ on the outside of macroporous biofilm carriers. This study investigated the kinetics of photocatalysis with $TiO_2$-coated porous carriers. The carriers were made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and coated with $TiO_2$ using a low-temperature sol-gel process. The $TiO_2$-coated carriers catalyzed the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) effectively under irradiation of UV light. The overall reaction rate with adsorption and photolysis saturated at high MB concentration, and approached the adsorption rate, which was first order for all MB concent rations. This result indicates that adsorbed MB may have slowed photocatalysis by blocking active sites for photocatalysis. The overall kinetics could be described by a quasi-Langmuir model. The estimated maximum specific (per unit mass of $TiO_2$) transformation rate of MB by the $TiO_2$-coated carriers was four times larger than that obtained from slurry-$TiO_2$ reactors. This observation demonstrated that the $TiO_2$ present as a coating on the carriers maintained high efficiency for transforming recalcitrant organic matter via photocatalysis. These findings serve as a foundation for advancement of an intimate coupling of photocatalysis to biodegradation.