Immobilized PAni-TiO2 Nanophotocatalyst on Glass Beads for Photocatalysis of 1,2-Dichloroethane in a Packed Bed Reactor

1,2-Dichloroethane is one of the most important chlorinated volatile organic pollutants and has been listed as a priority pollutant by Environmental protection agency (EPA). In this research, PAni-TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized for photocatalytic degradation of synthetic 1,2-dichloroethane wastewater. PAni-TiO2 immobilized on the surface of glass beads and used as the packing material. The characteristics of synthesized PAni -TiO2 nanoparticles were confirmed using FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. The ability of immobilized PAni-TiO2 glass beads for photocatalytic degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane was investigated in a packed -bed photocatalytic reactor. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) was used for Design of experiments. Catalyst composition and catalyst loading (mg/cm2) were considered as independent parameters and 1,2-dichloroethane degradation was selected as the response parameter. Other influential parameters including radiation of a 150W xenon lamp, aeration flow of 2 L/min, 5 liter of synthetic wastewater with initial concentration of 200 mg/l, residence time of 2 hours and pH of 7 were kept constant. Results showed that (1) PAni-TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized and immobilized on glass beads (2) Design Expert software optimized 70.59% degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane under visible light irradiation with catalyst composition [TiO2: PAni] at [2.33:1] and catalyst loading at 0.39 mg/cm2 , respectively.

Keywords:

: 1 , 2-Dichloroethane , PAni-TiO2 , Immobilized Glass Beads , Photocatalytic Degradation , Packed Bed reactor