Photocatalytic Degradation of Textile Dyes in aTiO2/UV System

This study is focused on development of a method of TiO2 immobilization, convenient for the wastewater remediation (especially for the degradation of textile dyes) and cheap for an industrial operation. An influence of selected operational parameters on process performance was verified. Methylene Blue was chosen as the model dye, however, a possibility of decolorization of other dyes was also tested. Two different ways of TiO2 immobilization were examined. An application of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) revealed to be more convenient for our purposes than application of the polyacrylamide (PA), as the observed degradation rate was much faster with the PVA. When TiO2 was immobilized in PA gel, the effects of the volumetric flow rate of the treated liquid through the photoreactor, wavelength of the UV light and the amount of immobilized TiO2 on decolorization process were negligible. Higher light intensity made the dye degradation substantially faster.