Resource detail

Title: Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants from industry wastes
Organization:National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
Source:Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
Year:2016

The project is one of the successfully completed projects under the Environment Research Programme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used as photocatalyst since the past two and half decades. The efficiency in its photocatalytic reactions has been improved by increasing the surface area of the photocatalyst by supporting fine TiO2 particles on some porous materials.

Heteropolyphosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40) (HPA)-encapsulated titanium-supported nanoporous materials were synthesized as a new photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic pollutants (dyes) delivered from industrial wastes. This system is relatively inexpensive, reproducible, extremely stable, and efficient in complete degradation of dye in aqueous solution. In order to obtain maximum information about the performance of HPA-encapsulated titanium-supported nanoporous catalyst, experiments were performed under different operating conditions, i.e., variation of amount of catalyst, concentration of dye, and electron acceptors.

End users: Environmentalists & Industrialists


Outcome/Benefits: Outcome of this result is in-situ synthesis of HPA immobilized mercapto and amino functionalized TiMCM41 for maximizing the degradation of ternary azo dyes by visible light illumination and to avoid mainly the leaching of HPA from the TiMCM-41 interface. HPA immobilized mercapto and amino functionalized TiMCM41 was found very stable and did not lose it activity after performing three consecutive irradiation experiments with ternary dyestuff mixtures; hence, it may be reusable for further degradation of dyestuff mixtures.