Abstract
A possibility of photocatalytic production of useful aliphatic hydrocarbons and H2 from various organic compounds, including acetic acid, methanol, ethanol and glucose, over Fe-modified TiO2 is discussed. In particular, the influence of the reaction atmosphere (N2, air) was investigated. Different gases were identified in the headspace volume of the reactor depending on the substrate. In general, the evolution of the gases was more effective in air compared to a N2 atmosphere. In the presence of air, the gaseous phase contained CO2, CH4 and H2, regardless of the substrate used. Moreover, formation of C2H6 and C3H8 in the case of acetic acid and C2H6 in the case of ethanol was observed. In case of acetic acid and methanol an increase in H2 evolution under aerated conditions was observed. It was concluded that the photocatalytic decomposition of organic compounds with simultaneous generation of combustible hydrocarbons and hydrogen could be a promising method of “green energy” production.
Highlights
Over the past thirty years increased concerns over emissions of greenhouse gases and the depletion of non-renewable resources of fossil fuels has caused the necessity to look for new methods of energy production
Fe/TiO2 photocatalyst was chosen on a basis of our previous investigations [21] during which we found that it exhibits high activity in the “photo-Kolbe” reaction using acetic acid as a substrate
The diversity of the products generated from the applied substrates resulted from their different photocatalytic decomposition pathways
Summary
Over the past thirty years increased concerns over emissions of greenhouse gases and the depletion of non-renewable resources of fossil fuels has caused the necessity to look for new methods of energy production. Most investigations concerning the photocatalytic treatment of organic compounds in aqueous solutions are focused on their complete mineralization to CO2 and H2O During these experiments the composition of the aqueous phase is only monitored. The first papers concerning the photocatalytic generation of hydrocarbons from organics in liquid phase were published in the 1970s by Kraeutler and Bard [12,13,14] These authors described a photocatalytic decarboxylation of acetic acid under UV light in the presence of Pt/TiO2 photocatalyst. A possibility of hydrocarbon formation during photodegradation of C1–C3 alcohols in aqueous suspensions of TiO2 was investigated by Dey and Pushpa [16] They concluded that CH4 and CO2 were the main products of the reaction of methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol. Fe/TiO2 photocatalyst was chosen on a basis of our previous investigations [21] during which we found that it exhibits high activity in the “photo-Kolbe” reaction using acetic acid as a substrate
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