Bio-organic substances as solar photocatalysts for wastewater treatment

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

Oporto

Congreso; 7th European Meeting on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis: Environmental Applications (SPEA7); 2012

The use of bio-organic substances (BOS) isolated from the humid fraction of urban refuses have been demonstrated as a promising approach in different chemical processes. In this study, the possibility of using BOS as photocatalyst for wastewater remediation has been investigated. First, crystal violet (CV), has been employed as a chemical probe to investigate on the role of the reactive species involved in the process. Then, the real applicability has been tuned using a mixture of six pollutants commonly found in wastewater treatment plant effluents, as well as in surface waters.