Aplication of soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) as photocatalysis for wastewater treatment: Sensitizing effect and photo-Fenton-like process

JUAN GOMIS; ROSA VERCHER; ANA M. AMAT; DANIEL O. MARTIRE; MÓNICA C. GONZALEZ; ALESSANDRA BIANCO PREVOT; ENZO MONTONERI; ANTONIO ARQUES; LUCIANO CARLOS

CATALYSIS TODAY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 209 p. 176 - 180

0920-5861

Soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) isolated from urban biorefuses have been investigated in photocatalytic processes for wastewater treatment using a cationic dye, namely crystal violet (CV) as target compound. The SBO have been found to enhance the photobleaching of CV solutions with an optimal SBO concentration of ca. 20 mg L−1. Mechanistic investigation based on chemical probes and changes in the absorption spectrum of CV in the presence of SBO seems to indicate that a complex formed between sensitizer and substrate plays a major role in the process. SBO have also been tested for the implementation of photo-Fenton processes at circumneutral media: the observed pseudo first order rate constants for CV decoloration was higher for UV/SBO/Fe(II)/H2O2 (5.5×10−3 min−1) than for UV/Fe(II)/H2O2 (1.5×10−3 min−1). A modified mechanism, in which HO? are less relevant that at the acidic medium, is in agreement with results of experiments carried out with chemical probes.