Parameter effect on photocatalytic degradation of phenol using TiO2-P25/activated carbon (AC)

Abstract

P25 powder embedded and TiO2 immobilized on activated carbon (TiO2-P25/AC) was prepared by P25 powder modified sol-gel and dip-coated method. The photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM and their photocatalytic activities were evaluated through phenol degradation in a fluidized bed photoreactor. The addition of P25 in the photocatalysts could significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity, and the optimum loading of P25 was 3g L −1 . The operating parameter results indicated that the optimum pH for phenol degradation was 5.2; the effect of air flow rate gave an optimal value of 2 L min −1 ; the increasing of UV light intensity led to an increase of degradation efficiency due to more photons absorbed on the surface of the photocatalyst. The kinetics of the phenol degradation fitted well with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics model. Finally, the photocatalytic ability of TiO2-P25/AC was re- duced only 10% after five cycles for phenol degradation.