Performance Evaluation and Kinetic Analysis of Photocatalytic Membrane Reactor in Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

The objectives of the current study are to assess and compare the performance of a developed photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) in treating industrial waste (e.g., organic dye waste) against membrane distillation. The current PMR is composed of a feed tank, which is a continuous stirred photocatalytic reactor containing slurry Titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles that are activated by using ultraviolet lamp irradiation at a wavelength of 365 nm, and a poly-vinylidene flouride (PVDF) membrane cell. The experimental setup was designed in a flexible way to enable both separate and integrated investigations of the photocatalytic reactor and the membrane, separately and simultaneously. The experimental work was divided into two phases. Firstly, the PVDF membrane was fabricated and characterized to examine its morphology, surface charge, and hydrophobicity by using a scanning electron microscope, surface zeta potential, and contact angle tests, respectively. Secondly, the effects of using different concentrations of the TiO2 photocatalyst and feed (e.g., dye concentration) were examined. It is found that the PMR can achieve almost 100% dye removal and pure permeate is obtained at certain conditions. Additionally, a kinetic analysis was performed and revealed that the photocatalytic degradation of dye follows a pseudo-first-order reaction.

Methylene Blue Removal on Biodegradable Adsorptive Membranes Fabricated From Sugarcane Bagasse Pulp: Characterization and Performance Study

“…[ 7 ] Governments have imposed environmental restrictions to regulate the water's quality regarding the presence of dye materials. [ 8 ] As a result, various research has been conducted over the years to identify effective and affordable water treatment solutions for removing these pollutants from wastewater while using various treatment technologies such as reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and adsorption. [ 9 ] Adsorptive membranes are a novel promising technique that may eliminate a variety of new toxins that endanger both human health and aquatic life and have come under scrutiny because of the limits and shortcomings of these approaches.…”