Photo-oxidative degradation of insecticide dichlorovos by a combined semiconductors and organic sensitizers in aqueous media

Treatment of landfill leachate using photocatalytic based advanced oxidation process - a critical review

Landfill leachate is a discrete volumetric component of municipal solid waste; hence, researchers and professionals are more concerned about it because of its obscurity. Innovative treatment and emerging technologies are being scrutinized to address the treatment of landfill leachate challenges. The leading target of this review was to examine the possibility of removing recalcitrant organic pollutants from landfill leachate by photocatalytic-based advanced oxidation processes. A summary of the systematic applicability of conventional treatment for landfill leachate is provided, with a focus on physico-chemical and biological processes. The biological treatment, such as aerobic and anaerobic digestion, is an excellent technique for treating highly concentrated organic pollutants in the wastewater. However, Leachate can scarcely be treated using conventional techniques since it is enriched with refractory organics and inorganic ions. It is clear from the literature review that none of the available combinations of physico-chemical and biological treatments are entirely relevant for the removal of recalcitrant organic pollutants from leachate. Recently, the photo-assisted TiO2/ZnO oxidation has shown an excessively potential and feasible way to treat landfill leachate. TiO2/ZnO photocatalysis is currently developing to treat recalcitrant organic pollutants from landfill leachate. The effect of operating parameters reveals that pH and temperature affect the reaction rate. The addition of oxidant H2O2 to the TiO2/ZnO suspension suggests that TiO2 leads to an increase in the rate of reaction when compared to ZnO. Photocatalytic remediation technique of landfill leachate would support the goal of environmental sustainability by greatly enhancing the effectiveness of treated leachate reutilization. In this review, the selection of the best photocatalytic treatment for leachate based on its systematic relevance and potential conditions, characteristics, cost-effectiveness, essential controlling, discharge limit, long-term environmental effects, and its future study perspectives are emphasized and discussed.

Sunlight and UVC-254 irradiation induced photodegradation of organophosphorus pesticide dichlorvos in aqueous matrices

Dichlorvos (DDVP) is an organophosphorus pesticide that has been classified as highly hazardous chemical by the World Health organization. In this study, the fate of the pesticide DDVP in natural water compartments was examined under simulated sunlight. Moreover, the effect of UV-254 irradiation on DDVP depletion was also studied. In deionized water, DDVP was photodegraded only in the presence of dissolved molecular oxygen. The photodegradation during the first 6 h of sunlight irradiation occurred with pseudo first-order kinetics, and the rate constants were 0.040 h^-1 at pH 7 and 0.064 h^-1 at pH 3. A reaction mechanism for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via DDVP photoabsorption was proposed. Humic acids (HA) played a double role as photosensitizer and inhibitor, observing an enhancement on DDVP photodegradation at low HA concentration (TOC = 2 mg L^-1). The depletion of DDVP under 254 nm UV irradiation was ascribed to direct photodegradation and oxygen mediated photoinduced reactions. Direct photodegradation of DDVP decreased with 254 nm irradiation reduction, highlighting the importance of radical mediated mechanisms at low irradiation doses. Based on LC/MS data, the main photoproducts under simulated solar light and UV-C irradiation were identified and potential reaction pathways were postulated. The three main identified products were o-methyl 2,2-dichlorovinyl phosphate, dichloroacetaldehyde and dimethylphosphate. Moreover, the toxicity of samples was evaluated along the irradiation exposure time using Microtox® assays. This study brings new insights into the role of oxygen in the photodegradation of DDVP and the induced and inhibition mechanisms involved in the presence of the humic acids in natural waters.

Preparation and characterization of TiO2/HZSM-11 zeolite for photodegradation of dichlorvos in aqueous solution

The TiO2/HZSM-11 materials were synthesized using titanium isopropoxide as a TiO2 precursor and HZSM-11 a medium pore size zeolite with high thermal and chemical resistance as support. The amount of titanium isopropoxide was varied in order to obtain TiO2 concentrations of 3, 10, 20, 30 and 50 wt% in the final material. They were characterized by a series of complementary techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), transmittance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface area of the TiO2/HZSM-11 samples decreased with the increment of TiO2 loading. As result of the increment of the calcination temperature from 450 to 800°C an increase in the size of the anatase crystals was observed. However, the X-ray diffraction patterns of the solids only presented the characteristic peaks of the anatase phase. The catalytic activity of the materials in the photodegradation of Dichlorvos (DDVP) depended on the TiO2 amount the thermal treatment temperature. The sample containing 30% TiO2 calcined at 450°C showed the best catalytic performance and it can be reused without noticeable activity loss during at least four cycles. The catalytic performance was similar to that of the P25 Degussa used as a reference but its separation, recovery and reuse was easier.

VISIBLE LIGHT ACTIVE Cu2+/TiO2 NANOCATALYST FOR DEGRADATION OF DICHLORVOS

The advantage of doping of TiO2 with copper has been utilized for enhanced degradation of pesticide under visible light irradiation. The sol–gel method has been undertaken for the synthesis of copper-doped TiO2 by varying the dopant loadings from 0.25 wt.% to 1.0 wt.% of Cu2+ . The doped samples were characterized by UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), N2 adsorption–desorption (BET), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). The photocatalytic activity of the catalyst was tested by degradation of dichlorvos under visible light illumination. The results found that 0.75 wt.% of Cu2+ doped nanocatalysts have better photo catalytic activity than the rest of percentages doped, undoped TiO2 and Degussa P25. The reduction of band gap was estimated and the influence of the process parameters on photo catalytic activity of the catalyst has been explained.

Photocatalytic degradation of dichlorvos in aqueous TiO2 suspensions

INTRODUCTION

In the present work, we explored the kinetics of dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorvinyl dimethyl phosphate, DDVP) decay through UV-A light-induced TiO(2) photocatalysis at pH 4 and 9, and the formation of degradation intermediates and final products under specific experimental conditions. Experimental observations and theoretical considerations allowed us to suggest the degradation mechanism of DDVP by the UV/TiO(2) process in aqueous solution.

METHODS

The irradiation experiments were carried out in a photoreactor using a 228-W medium-pressure Hg vapor lamp. The concentration of DDVP, phosphate ion and formaldehyde as reaction intermediate, are determined spectrophotometrically. Chloride ion concentration was measured potentiometrically.

RESULTS

The photocatalytic degradation rate of dichlorvos (DDVP) under UV irradiation (360-380 nm) was optimized with respect to the flow rate of O(2) gas sparged into the solution and photocatalyst concentration for a constant dichlorvos concentration (1.66 x 10(-4) M) at pH 4. Kinetic data were obtained at pH 4 and pH 9 for dichlorvos and the inorganic species released through its photo-induced degradation. The proposed mechanism which assumes the formation of some toxic intermediates resistant to mineralization is supported by theoretical calculations and the observed inorganic mass balances.

CONCLUSIONS

The calculated pseudo-first-order rate constants were dependent on the dissolved oxygen level at low O(2) flow rate, but somewhat independent on the initial pH. The decrease of pH during the irradiation suggests the formation of organic acids. The presence of organic intermediates was confirmed also by TOC measurements. A plausible reaction mechanism of DDVP degradation through the UV-A/TiO(2) process was proposed.

Evaluating the photo-catalytic application of Fenton's reagent augmented with TiO(2) and ZnO for the mineralization of an oil-water emulsion

In the present study, homogenous (photo-Fenton) and heterogeneous photo-assisted systems (Fenton/TiO(2)/UV, Fenton/ZnO/UV and Fenton/TiO(2)/UV/Air) were investigated for the treatment of a diesel-oil wastewater emulsion. The augmentation of the photo-Fenton process by heterogeneous TiO(2) increased the reaction rate, in terms of COD reduction efficiency from 61% to 71%. Furthermore, the COD removal efficiency was increased to 84% when air was bubbled through the reactants. However, if the Fenton/TiO(2) /UV/Air process is to be utilized as a treatment for this wastewater, the separation of the TiO(2) from the treated effluent would need further consideration.

Comparison of photocatalysis and photolysis of malathion, isomalathion, malaoxon, and commercial malathion--products and toxicity studies

Malathion, one of the most widely applied insecticides, is still used in agriculture. There are many studies regarding its degradation under different experimental conditions, but few deal with its transformation products, i.e. malaoxon and isomalathion. Thus, malathion, malaoxon, isomalathion, and Radotion (one of its over 6000 commercial forms) were studied in terms of their degradation kinetics, identification of their transformation products, their toxicity, and their degree of mineralization, during UV photolysis (lambda = 254 nm) and TiO(2) photocatalysis (lambda = 355 nm). The degradation kinetics was similar for all four starting materials. More than 75% of theoretically expected sulfur in PS and P-S groups was oxidized after 240 min of photolysis and photocatalysis. On the other hand, less than 30% of stoichiometrically predicted amounts of phosphate was detected in the photolytic experiments, but more than 80% of expected phosphate was detected after photocatalytic treatment of all four organophosphorous materials. Several transformation products were identified by mass spectra of representative gas chromatographic peaks. Oxidation and isomerization were found as the main reactions of butenedioc acid diethyl esters and their analogs. The formation of malaoxon, isomalathion or trimethyl phosphate esters correlated well with the induced toxicity (inhibition of acetylcholinesterase), which was observed in photocatalysis of malathion and Radotion, and in photolysis of malaoxon and Radotion.