(583i) Degradation of Organic –Contaminants from Wastewater By Photocatalytic-Methods Via TiO2 Thin Films and Simultaneous Production of Hydrogen-Preliminary Results

The new focus on the Energy-Water Nexus is the ability to generate energy from wastewater treatment. In particular, contamination from agriculture extensive use of herbicides and pesticides lead to an important contamination of water supply. A four- step technology is being developed to recycle contaminated water and produce hydrogen as potential use in fuel cells. The technology is based on the use of TiO₂ thin films to replace the current costly use of nanoparticles in batch-designed systems that requires elimination of the particles by filtration. The four steps involved in the technology include a- Manufacturing and characterization of the thin films, b-Testing the production of Hydrogen and comparison with other techniques, C-Testing the elimination of agricultural-based contaminants (such as herbicides) and d-Testing the combination of step b and c to simultaneously produce hydrogen and decontaminate water. The production of H₂ via the thin films has been achieve based on pure water. This work is focuses on the use of advanced oxidation techniques, specifically the use of photo-catalytic processes via TiO₂ nanoparticles to degrade herbicides, such as…. (part C). The reactor equipped with UV-lamp and the use the TiO₂ nanoparticles , has been applied to the degradation of contaminants via UV-photocatalytic methods. This research is centered on the reduction kinetics of the pollutants by using UV-photocatalytic processes suitable for the potential simultaneous production of H₂ (g) from wastewater. This will be the next effort in the investigation.