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Solar photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol with ZnO nanoparticles: optimisation with D-optimal design and study of intermediate mechanisms

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Abstract

In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of toxic pollutant (2-chlorophenol) in the presence of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was investigated under solar radiation. The three main factors, namely pH of solution, solar intensity and calcination temperature, were selected in order to examine their effects on the efficiency of the degradation process. The response surface methodology (RSM) technique based on D-optimal design was applied to optimise the process. ANOVA analysis showed that solar intensity and calcination temperature were the two significant factors for degradation efficiency. The optimum conditions in the model were solar intensity at 19.8 W/m2, calcination temperature at 404 °C and pH of 6.0. The maximum degradation efficiency was predicted to be 90.5% which was in good agreement with the actual experimental value of 93.5%. The fit of the D-optimal design correlated very well with the experimental results with higher values of R 2 and R 2 adj correlation coefficients of 0.9847 and 0.9676, respectively. The intermediate mechanism behaviour of the 2-chlorophenol degradation process was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results confirmed that 2-chlorophenol was converted to acetic acid, a non-toxic compound.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Research Centre for Sustainable Process Technology (CESPRO), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for supporting this study under project PKT-6/2012, iconic-2014-004 and NPRP grant no. [5-1425-2-607] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). Muneer M. Ba-Abbad is also grateful to the Hadhramout University of Science & Technology, Yemen for financial support of his PhD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre For Sustainable Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Muneer M. Ba-Abbad, Mohd S. Takriff & Abdul Wahab Mohammad

  2. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Muneer M. Ba-Abbad, Mohd S. Takriff, Abdul Amir H. Kadhum, Abu Bakar Mohamad & Abdul Wahab Mohammad

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Petroleum, Hadhramout University of Science & Technology, Mukalla, Hadhramout, Yemen

    Muneer M. Ba-Abbad

  4. Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Abu Bakar Mohamad

  5. Gas Processing Centre, Qatar University, P. O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar

    Abdelbaki Benamor

Authors
  1. Muneer M. Ba-Abbad
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  2. Mohd S. Takriff
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  3. Abdul Amir H. Kadhum
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  4. Abu Bakar Mohamad
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  5. Abdelbaki Benamor
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  6. Abdul Wahab Mohammad
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Correspondence to Muneer M. Ba-Abbad.

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Ba-Abbad, M.M., Takriff, M.S., Kadhum, A.A.H. et al. Solar photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol with ZnO nanoparticles: optimisation with D-optimal design and study of intermediate mechanisms. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 2804–2819 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8033-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8033-y

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