TiO2 onto metallic meshes applied to the elimination of emergent pollutants

C. M. TRINDADE; A. M. BERNARDES; S. W. DA SILVA; M. A. ULLA; J. P. BORTOLOZZI; E. D. BANÚS

Bad Herrenalb

Conferencia; 6th International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors; 2019

KIT, FAU

Nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP4EO) is an emerging contaminant considered as endocrine disruptor [1]. Different ways for its elimination are currently under investigation. In this vein, titanium dioxide has strong oxidizing character and it can be applied to environmental remediation processes in liquid phase. In this work, the deposition of a titania/zirconia film onto metal meshes was studied. The structured catalysts were characterized and they were evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation of nonylphenol ethoxylate. Two variables of the synthesis procedure and their influence on the coating obtained were studied: (i) Zr/Ti mass ratio of the washcoating suspension (S1 = 2.1, S2 = 4.2) and (ii) mesh opening (M1 < M2 < M3).An uniform coating with high adherence to the substrate (>90%) could be obtained (Fig. 1a). The weight loss in water was evaluated after 300 min under ultrasound bath. This result was linked to the lower mesh opening (M1 = 0.54 mm) and to the higher amount of binder agent employed (S2 = 4.2). In turn, this system showed a high degradation degree of the pollutant with values of 91% after 240 min in reaction (Fig. 1b) and a mineralization percentage of around 60%. In addition, the coating was catalytically stable, since its activity remained unchanged after several cycles of reaction.