Preparation and application of α-Fe2O3@TiO2@SO3H for photocatalytic degradation and COD reduction of woodchips industry wastewater.

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the efficiency of photocatalytic degradation and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction from woodchips industry wastewater using α-Fe2O3@TiO2@SO3H. A magnetic α-Fe2O3@TiO2@SO3H was prepared as a heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and elemental mapping (MAP) analyses were performed to determine the structure and morphology of synthesized photocatalysts. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the photo-Fenton process based on a Box-Behnken design (BBD). The parameters such as catalyst dosage, H2O2 dosage, pH, and contact time on photocatalytic degradation and the reduction of COD were studied. The maximum photocatalytic degradation of 93.75% and COD reduction of 86.54% were achieved at a dosage of the catalyst of 1 g L-1, H2O2 dosage of 40 mg L-1, and a pH of 3.5 at 45 min. The kinetics of the photo-Fenton process was studied for the woodchips wastewater treatment under optimum conditions. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model for photocatalytic degradation and COD reduction was obtained. The results indicated that a α-Fe2O3@TiO2@SO3H could be used as an effective heterogeneous photocatalyst for the treatment of woodchips industry wastewater. Preparation and application of α-Fe2O3@TiO2@SO3H for photocatalytic degradation and COD reduction of woodchips industry wastewater.