Oxidation of lindane in contaminated water under solar irradiation in the presence of photocatalyst and oxidizing agents

The oxidation of lindane is investigated by photooxidation and photocatalytic procedures using solar light irradiation. The photocatalyst used in photocatalysis is Degussa P25 TiO2. The degree of oxidation is followed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements. The oxidation process is carried out at different initial concentrations of lindane varying from 0.05×10 M to 1.0×10 M. The photooxidation and photocatalytic oxidation are studied in the presence of H2O2/K2Cr2O7 to check the effect of oxidizing agents on the rate of oxidation. The higher rate of oxidation is observed in the presence of H2O2 when compared to K2Cr2O7 in photocatalysis. The decrease in the concentration of lindane during oxidation is also followed by UV-visible absorption studies. The oxidation of lindane follows the first order kinetics and the value of the rate constant k, as calculated, is 0.43×10 s.