Wastewater treatment containing organic solvent from the production of hybrid membranes

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment Vol. 248; pp. 79 - 93
• Main Authors: Araújo, Bruna Aline, Araújo, Edcleide Maria, da Silva, Karyna Steffane, de Lima, Geralda Gilvânia Cavalcante, de Medeiros, Keila Machado, de Lima, Carlos Antônio Pereira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-02-2022
• Subjects: Contaminated water; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; Photocatalysis; Titanium dioxide; Contaminated water; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; Titanium dioxide; Photocatalysis
• ISSN: 1944-3986; 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2022.28096

In this work, titanium dioxide/ultraviolet (TiO2/UV) heterogeneous photocatalysis was evaluated in degradation of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) because it is an organic solvent that has high chemical stability, treated by conventional processes. The effluents with NMP were obtained from the immersion bath and precipitation generated in obtaining the hybrid membranes by phase inversion technique. TiO2 was characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, particle size distribution, textural analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. The effluent was evaluated by hydrogen potential, electrical conductivity, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand. The semiconductor presented 98.6% a purity grade, predominant crystalline phase anatase, TiO2 characteristic bands, average particle diameter of 59.6 nm and endothermic peaks up to 100°C, which are considered important intrinsic characteristics for application in photocatalytic processes. Kinetic assays were performed following the experimental design and the kinetic data were fitted to the pseudo-first-order model. For photocatalytic degradation response, all variables showed a significant effect at the 95% confidence interval. The Statistical tool detected that pH had the greatest influence and its ratio was directly proportional to the degradation of contaminants. Therefore, it was found that the TiO2/UV process showed photodegradation potential of 95% of the organic solvent NMP.