Degradation, Kinetics, and Mineralization in Solar Photocatalytic Treatment of Aqueous Amitrole Solution with Titanium Dioxide

Abstract

Abstract Amitrole (3-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazole or aminotriazole) is a widely employed herbicide with strong estrogenic activity that can lead to abnormalities of the thyroid gland and cause mutations. Photocatalytic degradation conditions of amitrole in titanium dioxide (TiO2)-suspended solution were optimized under sunlight irradiation. The effect of various factors, such as photocatalyst loading, initial substrate concentration, temperature, pH, sunlight intensity, and irradiation time on the photocatalytic degradation of amitrole, was investigated. Photocatalytic degradation under sunlight irradiation was very effective for amitrole solution. The primary photocatalytic decomposition reaction followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic law, according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. The activation energy (Ea) was estimated to be 6.73 kJ/mol. Nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+) ions were detected as end inorganic products. Triazole was identified as the intermediate product. Solar photocatalytic degradation tre...