Photocatalytic Denitrification of Nitrate Using Fe-TiO2-Coated Clay Filters

Abstract

In this work, 3D-structured clay filters were prepared and coated with iron-doped titanium dioxide (Fe-TiO2) using 3D printing and sol–gel soaking and calcination techniques. Three-dimensional printing was employed to mold and shape the clay filters before annealing. The coated and uncoated filters were characterized for different properties, i.e., morphology, optical properties, and crystalline structure, using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV/Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The FESEM images show uniform coatings of round-shaped Fe-TiO2 on the tiny pore of the clay filter. The optical energy band gap of the obtained coating was around 2.8 eV, estimated by Tauc’s plot, compared with 3.2 eV of pristine anatase TiO2. The XRD spectra data processed through XRD software revealed the coatings of TiO2 on the filter surface with the obtained phase of anatase. The photocatalytic performance of bare and coated filters was initially tested for the degradation of indigo carmine (IC) dye and the obtained results suggested the photocatalytic degradation of IC dye by the Fe-TiO2 clay filter compared with the bare filter. Afterward, the denitrification of nitrate NO3 at various concentrations was performed using Fe-TiO2-coated clay filters and analyzing the total nitrogen (TN) analysis and reduction of NO3 to nitrite (NO2−), nitrogen monoxide (NO), and nitrogen gas (N2). The TN analysis revealed up to 81% denitrification efficiency of the 30 ppm NO3 solution with the photocatalytic response of the Fe-TiO2-coated filter. The results revealed that the Fe-TiO2-coated clay filter has a high potential for denitrification applications under natural sunlight.