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Photocatalytic Degradation of Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) in Water Using TiO2

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Abstract

The degradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) in aqueous solution by titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysis has been investigated in our research. DEP was completely removed in the solution by 50-min irradiation. Results show that DEP degradation rate was affected by initial DEP concentration, photocatalyst amount, light intensity, and pH. Photocatalytic degradation intermediates were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry intermediates were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major intermediates are methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, and carboxylic derivatives. The photocatalytic degradation process was found to obey first-order reaction. Consequently, the result of photocatalytic degradation could be an efficient method of DEP removal from wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by a Grant from the National Science Council.

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Correspondence to Chih-Yu Chen.

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Huang, WB., Chen, CY. Photocatalytic Degradation of Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) in Water Using TiO2 . Water Air Soil Pollut 207, 349–355 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0141-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0141-6

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