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Photocatalytic ozonation of pesticides in a fixed bed flow through UVA-LED photoreactor

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Abstract

In this study, a fixed bed flow through UVA-LED photoreactor was used to compare the efficiency of ozone, photocatalysis and photocatalysis-ozone degradation, and mineralization of two pure pesticides, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), and a commercial one, Killex®. For the degradation of the parent compounds, ozone-based processes were more effective. While for mineralization, photocatalytic processes were more effective. Photocatalytic ozonation was the most efficient process for both the degradation and mineralization of the parent compounds. The degradation rates and mineralization by photocatalytic ozonation were higher than the summation of the corresponding rates by ozonation and photocatalysis, indicating a symbiotic relationship.

Overall, the photocatalytic ozonation process with the fixed bed TiO2 reduces the time needed for the degradation and mineralization of the pesticides, reduces the costs of powder catalyst separation and overcomes the reduced efficiency of immobilized catalysts, which makes the process quite attractive for practical applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada and the support by the RES’EAU WaterNet NSERC Strategic Research Network. Emad K. Radwan thanks the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt, for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St, Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt

    Emad K Radwan

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Linlong Yu & Gopal Achari

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Cooper H. Langford

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  1. Emad K Radwan
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  2. Linlong Yu
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  3. Gopal Achari
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  4. Cooper H. Langford
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Correspondence to Emad K Radwan.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest. The sponsors had no role in study design, data collection analysis or interpretation, writing of the manuscript or the decision to publish.

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Responsible editor: Suresh Pillai

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Radwan, E.K., Yu, L., Achari, G. et al. Photocatalytic ozonation of pesticides in a fixed bed flow through UVA-LED photoreactor. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 21313–21318 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7346-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7346-1

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