Chemical Engineering Science, Vol.54, No.15-16, 3107-3111, 1999
Photocatalytic oxidation of organic acids in aqueous media by a supported catalyst
In the present work a pilot-size continuous photocatalytic reactor with a fixed supported photocatalyst was used to oxidize various aliphatic organic acids, like formic, glycolic and citric acids, and their mixtures. These organic pollutants are representative of waste waters produced by cleaning of boilers in power plants. Both acid and total organic carbon conversion versus the residence time were monitored. The experimental results prove the efficiency of the photocatalytic degradation process also in the presence of relatively high concentrations of the substrates. The fixed supported catalyst offers important advantages if compared with dispersed particles systems (slurry) and might improve the feasibility of the photocatalytic oxidation process.