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Removal of Endocrine Disruptors in Wastewater Using Visible Light Active Photocatalytic Reactor

Contamination of water resources by endocrine disrupting chemicals is a pervasive problem with wide spread ecological consequences. The stringent regulations concerning the quality of water necessitate the development contrivance methods for the removal of endocrine disruptors from wastewater. The conventional wastewater treatment methods just transfer the contaminants from one medium to another and further treatment or disposal is required. Biodegradation of endocrine disruptors may be slow, incomplete and the by-products are more toxic than the parent compounds. Advanced oxidation process (AOP) employing visible light active photocatalytic material is a promising technique for the removal of toxic organic pollutants from wastewater.

Photoassisted catalytic decomposition employing semiconductors as photocatalyst is a plausible method for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater. More than 95% solar light reaches the earth surface is in the range of visible light (mostly 400-600 nm). Therefore, visible light response photocatalysts become a recent trend in order to take full advantages of solar light. The visible light responsive mesoporous TiO₂, metals and
non-metals doped mesoporous TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit unique properties such as quantum size effect, high surface area and short interface migration distances for achieving enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Thus the project aims to develop visible light active photocatalytic materials for effective destruction of EDCs in wastewater. The proposed development of mesoporous materials is to enhance the surface area therefore the bulky organic pollutants get adsorbed on the surface as well as in the large pores which will ultimately degrade the upon irradiation with visible light.

REMOVAL OF FLUORIDE AND ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER USING NANOPARTICLES

Fluoride and arsenic contamination in the drinking water due to natural reasons and human activities is a major problem world wide. It is of great importance to develop suitable techniques to remove arsenic and fluoride in drinking water quickly and effectively at a reasonable cost. Various technologies such as coagulation, ion exchange and adsorption have been employed for arsenic and fluoride removal from drinking water. Most of the materials are micro sized particles. This size difference makes majority of surface area inaccessible to the contaminants thereby limiting their removal.

Nanotechnology has introduced different types of nanomaterials to water industry that can have promising outcomes. Metal oxide and mixed metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted much interest and widely used to remove arsenic and fluoride from drinking water due to the presence of high surface area. Thus the project aim to develop nano materials for effective removal of arsenic and fluoride in drinking water. The development of nanomaterials is to enhances the surface area thereby the contaminants get adsorbed on the surface area as well as in the pores which will effectively enhance the adsorption and removal of arsenic and fluoride quickly and effectively in drinking water.