Heteropoly acid nanocomposite for disinfection and dye removal of licorice wastewater: fabrication of a novel fixed-bed photocatalytic reactor

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2022-06, Vol.33 (18), p.15166-15179
• Main Authors: Khodayari, Maryam, Rafiee, Ezzat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Borosilicate glass; Catalysts; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Disinfection; Dyes; Infrared analysis; Leaching; Luminous intensity; Materials Science; Nanocomposites; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optimization; Performance degradation; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photodegradation; Polyethylene glycol; Rods; Surface stability; Titanium dioxide; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-022-08436-x

In terms of applied photocatalysts, NaH 6 [PDA] 2 [PW 9 Co 3 (PDA) 3 O 37 ]⋅13H 2 O as a hybrid organic–inorganic heteropoly acid and 12-tungstophosphoric acid with TiO 2 and polyethylene glycol (TiO 2 /PEG/PDA-Co 3 W 9 and TiO 2 /PEG/PW, respectively), as a high performance composite based material were synthesized. This work focuses on the fabrication and presentation of an innovative photoreactor for wastewater treatment process. In this photoreactor an effective mixing of the desired solution was provided by producing microbubbles. Prepared photocatalysts were impregnated on borosilicate glass rods by a simple protocol and imbedded in the photoreactor. Optimization of different factors such as light intensity and impact of bubbling of the photoreactor, kind and dosage of the catalyst, the initial pH and initial dye concentration on the photocatalytic degradation reaction were also performed. The catalyst powder that immobilized on the glass rods, was removed and characterized by XRD, BET, BJH, ICP-OES, SEM, EDX, most probable number method (MPN) and FT-IR analysis. The regeneration and leaching of the immobilized catalyst from the glass rods were both studied. Low leaching ratio after treatment obtained from ICP of the dye solution, demonstrated that deposition of the photocatalyst on the glass surface occurred in good stability and adhesion. Based on the obtained results of high performance photoreactor system, degradation efficiency of 90% after 120 min was observed. Dye removal of licorice wastewater in different concentration was also investigated. Furthermore, wastewater disinfection ability of prepared photocatalyst in designated system was checked. The results from MPN method showed that this system reduced coliform content from 21,000 to 8000 MPN/100. So, this system may be developed as a high-potential treatment and disinfection technology.