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Pilot scale thin film plate reactors for the photocatalytic treatment of sugar refinery wastewater

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Abstract

Pilot scale thin film plate reactors (TFPR) were fabricated to study the solar photocatalytic treatment of wastewater obtained from the secondary treatment plant of a sugar refinery. Silver-impregnated titanium dioxide (TiO2) was prepared by a facile chemical reduction method, characterized, and immobilized onto the surface of ceramic tiles used in the pilot scale reactors. On 8 h of solar irradiation, percentage reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the wastewater by Ag/TiO2, pure TiO2, and control (without catalyst) TFPR was about 95, 86, and 22 % respectively. The effects of operational parameters such as, flow rate, pH, and addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were optimized as they influence the rate of COD reduction. Under 3 h of solar irradiation, 99 % COD reduction was observed at an optimum flow rate of 15 L h−1, initial pH of 2, and addition of 5 mM of H2O2. The results show that Ag/TiO2 TFPR could be effectively used for the tertiary treatment of sugar refinery effluent using sunlight as the energy source. The treated water could be reused for industrial purposes, thus reducing the water footprint of the industry.

Sugar refinery effluent treatment by solar photocatalytic TFPR

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, Government of India for funding the research project, “Development of solar photocatalytic reactors for the treatment of wastewater” (F.No.40/146/2010SR). The authors are thankful to Central Instrumentation Facility, Department of Earth Sciences and Centre for Nanoscience and Technology, Pondicherry University for providing instrumentation facilities for characterization of the catalysts.

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  1. Environmental Photocatalysis Research Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, 605014, India

    S. Saran, G. Kamalraj, P. Arunkumar & S. P. Devipriya

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  1. S. Saran
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  2. G. Kamalraj
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  3. P. Arunkumar
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  4. S. P. Devipriya
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Correspondence to S. P. Devipriya.

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Saran, S., Kamalraj, G., Arunkumar, P. et al. Pilot scale thin film plate reactors for the photocatalytic treatment of sugar refinery wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 17730–17741 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6964-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6964-y

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