Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Raul F. Lobo, Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 07, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. [65]).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-04-12Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:50:41Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_jm_me_bauru.pdf: 549067 bytes, checksum: 7489ebe71b862060486033eb00f03299 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico do Maranhão (FAPEMA) / Esse estudo investigou a cinética de coagulação floculação do TiO2 em suspensão aquosa de baixa força iônica (água destilada)e força iônica média (água de abastecime to público),em função do pH e da adição de sulfato de alumínio. A coagulação floculação do TiO2 ocorre quando o pH é ajustado próximo ao pH do potencial isoelétrico, pela compressão da camada de difusão ou pela adsorção hidrólise com íons Al 3+ . Em suspensões de TiO2 com baixa força iônica,a coagulação ocorre a um determinado pH (4,0 e 7,0), uma vez que ele depende basicamente da superfície do óxido. Com adição de um coadjuvante de sedimentação (por ex. sulfato de alumínio), a qual a força iônica é alta,a coagulação floculação ocorre muito rápido. O tempo de decantação do material em suspensão foi de 2:00 h, foi comparada a cinética de sedimentação da decantação simples com a realizada em Jar Test sob a influência de agitação rápida (eletrocinético) e lenta (ortocinético) antes de permitir a sedimentação. O melhor desempenho foi em Jar Test,turbidez final de 10 NTU. / This study investigated the coagulation-flocculation kinetics of TiO2 in an aqueous Suspension of low-strength ionic solution (distilled water) and a medium strength ionic solution (tap water) as a function of pH and of the addition of aluminum sulfate. Coagulation-flocculation of TiO2 occurs when the pH is adjusted close to the isoelectric potential (iep), by compression of the diffusion layer or by adsorption-hydrolysis with Al 3+ ions. In TiO2 suspensions with low electric strength,coagulation takes place at certain pH (4,0 a d 7,0) since it depends basically on the oxide surface.With the addition of sedimentation aid (e.g.,aluminum sulfate), in which the ionic strength is high, coagulation-flocculation, takes place very fast. The decantation time of the material in suspension was of 2h. The sedimentation kinetic of the simple decantation was compared to that carried out in Jar Test under influence of fast stirring (electrokinetic) and slow stirring (ortokinetic) before sedimentation set up.The best performance was in Jar Test,final turbidez of 10 NTU.

abstract: Over the past years, an interest has arisen in resolving two major issues: increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and depleting energy resources. A convenient solution would be a process that could simultaneously use CO2 while producing energy. The photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to fuels over the photocatalyst titanium dioxide (TiO2) is such a process. However, this process is presently inefficient and unsuitable for industrial applications. A step toward making this process more effective is to alter TiO2 based photocatalysts to improve their activity. The interactions of CO2 with oxygen-deficient and unmodified (210) surfaces of brookite TiO2 were studied using first-principle calculations on cluster systems. Charge and spin density analyses were implemented to determine if charge transfer to the CO2 molecule occurred and whether this charge transfer was comparable to that seen with the oxygen-deficient and unmodified anatase TiO2 (101) surfaces. Although the unmodified brookite (210) surface provided energetically similar CO2 interactions as compared to the unmodified anatase (101) surface, the unmodified brookite surface had negligible charge transfer to the CO2 molecule. This result suggests that unmodified brookite is not a suitable catalyst for the reduction of CO2. However, the results also suggest that modification of the brookite surface through the creation of oxygen vacancies may lead to enhancements in CO2 reduction. The computational results were supported with laboratory data for CO2 interaction with perfect brookite and oxygen-deficient brookite. The laboratory data, generated using diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, confirms the presence of CO2- on only the oxygen-deficient brookite. Additional computational work was performed on I-doped anatase (101) and I-doped brookite (210) surface clusters. Adsorption energies and charge and spin density analyses were performed and the results compared. While charge and spin density analyses showed minute charge transfer to CO2, the calculated adsorption energies demonstrated an increased affinity for CO2adsorption onto the I-doped brookite surface. Gathering the results from all calculations, the computational work on oxygen-deficient, I-doped, and unmodified anatase and brookite surface structures suggest that brookite TiO2 is a potential photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Chemical Engineering 2012

Orientador: Nilson Cristino da Cruz / Banca: Clodomiro Alves Junior / Banca: Walter Ruggeri Waldman / Resumo: A fotocatálise heterogênea utilizando óxido de titânio tem se mostrado promissora na degradação de poluentes orgânicos. Neste contexto, a oxidação eletrolítica assistida por plasma (do inglês, Plasma electrolytic oxidation - PEO) é um método bastante compatível por possibilitar a formação de superfícies fotocatalíticas com porosidade e com composição química controladas. Neste trabalho, a oxidação por PEO foi utilizada na geração de superfícies porosas em um substrato de titânio, usando uma solução eletrolítica contendo 5 ou 10 g/L de oxalato amoniacal de nióbio, com a finalidade de incorporar nióbio às superfícies de óxido de titânio, visando de aumentar sua atividade fotocatalítica sob luz visível. No processo de PEO foram utilizadas as tensões de 500 e 600 V, com frequência fixada em 60 Hz e tempo de tratamento variando de 60 a 600 s. As morfologias, topografias superficiais e estruturas cristalinas das amostras foram analisadas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), microscopia de força atômica (AFM) e difração de raios X (DRX), respectivamente. Energia dispersiva de raios X (EDS) foram empregadas para determinação de estrutura cristalina e composição química, respectivamente. O gap óptico das amostras foi determinado a partir de espectros de reflexão na região do ultravioleta visível (UV-Vis). Rugosidade foi determinada por perfilometria e um goniômetro automatizado foi usado para determinação do ângulo de contato e energia de superfície. A atividade fotocatalíti... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Heterogeneous photocatalysis using titanium oxide has shown to be promising in degradation of organic pollutants, reducing their toxicity and allowing them to be degraded by the environment. In this context, Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) is a very interesting method because it allows the formation of photocatalytic surfaces with controlled porosity and chemical composition. In this work, PEO oxidation was used for the generation of porous surfaces of titanium substrates, using an electrolytic solution containing 5 or 10 g / L of niobium ammonium oxalate, with the purpose of incorporating niobium to titanium oxides, aiming the enhance of its photocatalytic activity under visible light. In the PEO process, voltages of 500 and 600 V were used, with a frequency set at 60 Hz and treatment time ranging from 60 to 600 s. The samples surface morphologies; topography and crystallographic structure were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. X-ray dispersive energy spectroscopy (EDS) have been employed for crystallographic structure and chemical composition evaluations, respectively. The optical gap of the samples was determined from reflection spectra in the visible ultraviolet region (UV-Vis). Roughness was determined by profilometry and an automated goniometer was used for contact angle and surface energy measurements. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated from the degradation of methylene bl... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The basis of prosperity of 20th centrury is oil. As oil is going to be used up, people need to find alternatives to meet the earth’s energy demand in 21st centrury. For each second, there are about 1.2×1017 J energy hitting the earth. The energy in 1 hour of sunlight is about 4.32×1020 J, which almost meets the energy consumed on earth in 2016. It determines solar energy may be a potential candidate to solve the energy crisis. As for techniques to utilize solar energy, the most popular one is using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cell is a device to convert solar energy into electricity. There are also some other techniques trying to utilize solar energy. Photocatalysis is one of them, which is to convert solar energy into chemical energy. Applications of photocatalysis have extended from hydrogen evolution via water splitting to environemtnal remediation, CO2/ N2 reduction and so on. Photocatalysis, as an advanced oxidation process, has been extensively studied and applied to the purification and remediation of contaminated water and wastewater, and exhibits advantages over conventional treatment technologies. When considering solar energy as an energy source for photocatalysis, it is key to prepare visible light-responsive materials. Bismuth-based semiconductors are promising materials as visible light-responsive photocatalysts primarily due to their suitable band gaps, well-dispersed valence bands, and commercial availabilities at reasonable costs, as well as the possibility of preparing them under mild conditions. Recent work focusing on the preparation, characterization and activity testing of bismuth-based photo-active materials as well as their associated photoreactor designs are introduced herein. In order to enhance the photocatalytic activities of the new materials, different precursors, additives, preparation procedures and process parameters, as well as surface treatments were explored to obtain binary and ternary heterostructures, with different doping, surface modification, nanoparticle sizes and morphologies. It was found that formation of heterojunction and loading metal nanoparticle on the surface are very effective to imrove the photocatalytic activity of the support. In this work, we found that palladium nanoparticles modified BiVO4 exhibited excellent activity in the decomposition of phenol, which was even higher than TiO2. To facilitate the separation process of catalysis particels from a slurry system, magnetically separable composites were also prepared, and it was found that it is very effective to remove the particles from the slurry system using external magnets. To further scale up this process, two different types of immbolized photoreactors (flat-plate and packed beads photoreactor) were also developed. Suggestions were made for further work in this research area.

Advanced oxidation processes are capable of removing organic compounds that cannot be removed by conventional water treatment methods. Among the oxidation processes, photo-catalysis using titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a promising method but suffers from rapid electron-hole recombination rates and only absorbs UV light which is a small percentage (5 percent) of the total solar radiation. Therefore there is a need to reduce the recombination rates and also extend the absorption of the photo-catalyst into the visible region which constitutes 55 percent of the total solar radiation. The major aims of this study were to prepare plasmon metal decorated and doped TiO2 photo-catalysts immobilized on quartz substrates and test their photo-catalytic and antimicrobial activities. The effect of film thickness (loading) and use of different shapes of plasmon metal nanostructures was investigated. TiO2 thin films were prepared by a sputter coating technique while plasmon metal (Au & Ag)/carbon co-doped TiO2 by a simple sol gel process and plasmon metal films were prepared by the thermal evaporation technique. Different plasmon metal nanostructures (nanorods, dendrites, nanowires and spherical nanoparticles) were prepared using a wet chemical technique using sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. Nanocomposites of co-doped TiO2 photo-catalyst and plasmon elements of different proportions were also prepared. The prepared photo-catalysts were coated onto etched and MPTMS (3-Mercaptopropyl trimethoxysliane) treated quartz glass substrate which is a stable support favouring easy recovery. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, HRTEM, TEM, HRSEM, FT-IR, SEM, PIXE and TGA while the doped TiO2 was characterized by XPS, BET, CHNS and Raman Spectroscopy. The effect of pH of solution, presence of other contaminants and salts in solution, initial concentration of the model pollutant and type of the plasmonic elements on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 towards 4-(4-sulfophenylazo)-N,N-dimethyl aniline (methyl orange) were also investigated. The selected TiO2 photo-catalyst films were tested for antimicrobial properties. The effect of different types of plasmon elements on the antimicrobial activity of TiO2 against E. coli ATCC 3695 was evaluated under both sunlight and weak UV light. Under UV light, Ag showed the highest enhancement in photo-catalytic activity of TiO2 than Au and Cu. The photo-catalytic activity of TiO2 increased with an increase in Ag content to an optimum loading and then started to decrease with a further increase in loading. For Cu and Au, photo-activity activity increased with an increase in plasmon metal content. Under sunlight, Cu showed the highest enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic compared to Ag and Au. The change in order of deposition showed that Au films enhanced the photo-activity better when they were deposited underneath rather than on top of TiO2 on quartz supports but Ag films performed better in enhancing photo-activity when they were deposited on top of TiO2. The use of bimetallic layers and three layer systems of different plasmon elements enhanced photo-catalytic activity better than the use of a monometallic layer. The presence of other organic contaminants and salts in solutions was found to reduce the photo-degradation of methyl orange due to preferential adsorption of other contaminants. When the pH was increased, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 towards methyl orange was reduced. In antimicrobial studies, it was found that the plasmon elements greatly improved the antibacterial action of TiO2 against Escherichia coli ATCC 3695 in water and the best antibacterial action was observed with silver/carbon co-doped TiO2 photo-catalyst under sunlight The doped samples consisted of polydisperse nanoparticles which were found to be beneficial for photo-catalytic activity enhancement under sunlight.

Submitted by Fabíola Cristina Ricci Spazzini (fabi08ricci@gmail.com) on 2018-10-10T15:16:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Mestrado_Fabíola_Versão final.pdf: 1879729 bytes, checksum: d293838704cda510bd445097e219b488 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucilene Cordeiro da Silva Messias null (lubiblio@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-10-10T16:44:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 spazzini_fcr_me_bauru.pdf: 1879729 bytes, checksum: d293838704cda510bd445097e219b488 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-10T16:44:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 spazzini_fcr_me_bauru.pdf: 1879729 bytes, checksum: d293838704cda510bd445097e219b488 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-17 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / A contaminação ambiental por efluentes orgânicos é atualmente um dos problemas ambientais mais sérios e, por conta disso, a eliminação desses poluentes tem sido largamente estudada. A degradação fotocatalítica mediada por dióxido de titânio (TiO2) de poluentes orgânicos, corantes e medicamentos é um assunto atual e intensamente investigado em ciências materiais e ambientais. Este processo é baseado em espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs) geradas pela transferência de elétrons fotoinduzidos, provocando a oxidação da água e a redução do oxigênio dissolvido, levando à formação de radical hidroxila (HO●) e ânion superóxido (O2●-). Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a importância da susceptibilidade à oxidabilidade e ao ataque eletrofílico de compostos orgânicos em fármacos submetidos à degradação por fotocatálise mediada por TiO2. Para esse trabalho, a rodamina B foi utilizada como composto modelo para avaliar o efeito das EROs e moléculas orgânicas como o ácido salicílico, ácido benzóico, ácido protocatecúico, anisol, acetofenona e nitrobenzeno foram utilizados para avaliar a importância da susceptibilidade ao ataque eletrofílico e à oxidação. O TiO2 foi utilizado como catalisador em um meio constituído pelo analito pré-determinado, sob irradiação por luz ultravioleta (UVC, 6W). A reação foi monitorizada por 2,5 horas e as amostras foram removidas a intervalos de 30 minutos. A importância de cada EROs foi avaliada por desaeração do meio, adição de catalase, dimetilsulfóxido (DMSO), etanol e iodeto de potássio (KI), que foram utilizados para remoção de oxigênio dissolvido, peróxido de hidrogênio (H2O2), HO● e buracos na banda de valência, respectivamente. Verificou-se que o processo fotocatalítico não foi afetado pela desaeração, o que indicou que o O2 não foi relevante para a degradação da rodamina B. Resultados similares foram obtidos utilizando catalase, uma enzima capaz de degradar H2O2. A adição de KI provocou efeito inibitório significativo revelando a importância da formação dos buracos na banda de valência do semicondutor. O etanol demostrou-se como um inibidor potente, o que evidencia que os HO● foram a EROs mais relevante nesse estudo, enquanto que O2●-e H2O2 apresentaram-se menos efetivos perante as reações de fotodegradação. Em relação à classe de compostos analisados, verificou-se que a oxidabilidade dos compostos foi pouco relevante, pois todos foram eficientemente degradados. Com relação a susceptibilidade a ataque eletrofílico, verificou-se uma maior reatividade, embora sutil, à fotodegradação dos compostos mais reativos sob este aspecto. Não foi possível estabelecer um padrão de estrutura e reatividade para os fármacos estudados, pois o cetoprofeno foi susceptível a degradação mesmo na ausência de TiO2 e o paracetamol mostrou-se pouco reativo. Em conclusão, este texto apresenta um conjunto de resultados que podem ser úteis para pesquisadores que estudam processos de fotodegradação de compostos orgânicos. / Environmental contamination by organic effluents is currently one of the most serious environmental problems and, as a result, the elimination of these pollutants has been widely studied. Photocatalytic degradation mediated by titanium dioxide (TiO2) from organic pollutants, dyes and drugs is a current and intensely investigated subject in the environmental and material sciences. This process is based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by photoinduced electron transfer, causing the oxidation of water and the reduction of dissolved oxygen, leading to the formation of hydroxyl radical (HO●) and superoxide anion (O2 ●- ). This work aimed to study the importance of the susceptibility to oxidation and electrophilic attack of organic compounds in drugs submitted to degradation by TiO2 mediated photocatalysis. For this work, rhodamine B was used as a model compound to evaluate the effect of EROs and organic molecules such as salicylic acid, benzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, anisole, acetophenone and nitrobenzene were used to evaluate the importance of susceptibility to electrophilic attack and oxidation. TiO2 was used as a catalyst in a medium consisting of the predetermined analyte, under ultraviolet light irradiation (UVC, 6W). The reaction was monitored for 2.5 hours and the samples were removed at 30 minute intervals. The importance of each ERO was evaluated by deaeration of the medium, addition of catalase, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), ethanol and potassium iodide (KI), which were used to remove dissolved oxygen, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), HO● and holes in the valence band, respectively. It was found that the photocatalytic process was not affected by the deaeration, which indicated that O2 was not relevant for the degradation of rhodamine B. Similar results were obtained using catalase, an enzyme capable of degrading H2O2. The addition of KI caused a significant inhibitory effect revealing the importance of the formation of the holes in the semiconductor valence band. Ethanol was shown to be a potent inhibitor, which evidenced HOs where EROs were more important in this study, while their effects were more important than photodegradation reactions. In relation to the class of compounds analyzed, it was verified that the oxidability of the compounds was little relevant, since all were efficiently degraded. Regarding the susceptibility to electrophilic attack, a greater reactivity, although subtle, was verified to the photodegradation of the most reactive compounds in this aspect. It was not possible to establish a pattern of structure and reactivity for the drugs studied, since ketoprofen was susceptible to degradation even in the absence of TiO2 and paracetamol showed little reactivity. In conclusion, this text presents a set of results that may be useful for researchers studying processes of photodegradation of organic compounds. / CNPq: 134799/2016-0

Neste trabalho foram empregados os métodos hidro e solvotérmico para sintetizar três diferentes catalisadores à base de bismuto (Bi2WO6, BiOI e BiVO4), visando aplicação em fotocatálise heterogênea sob radiação visível. Foram investigadas as influências do tempo de síntese, da calcinação, da adição de polivinilpirolidona (PVP) e do tipo de solvente usado durante a síntese sobre a morfologia, cristalinidade, área superficial específica e band gap das amostras. Os catalisadores foram caracterizados por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de refletância difusa (ERD), difração de Raios-X (DRX) e adsorção de N2. Para avaliar a atividade fotocatalítica das amostras sintetizadas foram realizados experimentos em um reator batelada agitado, com o catalisador em suspensão e uma lâmpada de LED como fonte de radiação visível. As moléculas testes escolhidas foram o corante rodamina B, para determinação das amostras com maior atividade e, posteriormente, o fármaco prednisolona, sendo então estudados a influência da concentração de catalisador e do pH inicial do meio reacional. Foram realizados, também, ensaios de toxicidade com o organismo Lactuca sativa – sementes de alface, para avaliar a toxicidade da prednisolona pura, da mistura água e catalisador de BiOI e das alíquotas provenientes da reação de degradação da prednisolona após diferentes tempos. As amostras de Bi2WO6 apresentaram boa cristalinidade e semelhanças morfológicas apesar dos diferentes tratamentos. As amostras de BiOI, por sua vez, apresentaram diferenças significativas de morfologia, de microesferas para microplacas, quando foi feita a mudança de solvente e a amostra de BiVO4 apresentou um formato de paralelepípedo. Nos testes fotocatalíticos com a rodamina B, o catalisador que se mostrou mais ativo foi o BiOI cuja síntese continha PVP e etilenoglicol (kap = 0,0207 min-1) e o BiVO4 foi o que apresentou a menor atividade (kap = 0,0013 min-1). Na degradação da prednisolona, a maior taxa de degradação foi obtida com 1 g L-1 de catalisador e no pH natural do fármaco, 6,8. Os ensaios de toxicidade revelaram que nem a prednisolona nem a mistura água e catalisador são tóxicas para as sementes de alface, as alíquotas provenientes da reação, porém, tiveram um aumento de sua toxicidade com o aumento do tempo de reação. / In this work, solvo and hydrothermal methods were applied to synthesize three types of bismuth catalysts (Bi2WO6, BiOI and BiVO4) aiming to the apply it in heterogeneous photocatalysis under visible light. Were investigated the influences of reaction time, calcination, addition of poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and the solvent type during synthesis on their morphology, crystallinity, surface area and band gap. The catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. To evaluate photocatalytic activity of the synthesized samples, experiments were carried out in a stirred batch reactor, with the catalyst in suspension and a LED lamp as a source of visible light. The test molecules chosen were the rhodamine B dye for determination of the samples with higher activity and subsequently the drug prednisolone, and then was studied the effect of catalyst concentration and initial pH of the reaction medium. Toxicity tests were also perfomed with organism Lactuca sativa – lettuce seeds, to the toxicity of pure prednisolone, water and BiOI catalyst mixture and aliquots from prednisolone degradation after different reaction times. As a result, the Bi2WO6 samples presented good crystallinity and morphological similarities despite having undergone different treatments. The BiOI catalysts presented a significant difference in morphology, microspheres to microplates, when changed the solvent, while the BiVO4 sample presented a parallelepiped shape. In the photocatalytic tests with rhodamine B, the catalyst with the highest activity was BiOI, containing PVP and ethylene glycol (kap = 0.0207 min-1) in its synthesis, and the BiVO4 was the catalyst with the lowest activity (kap = 0.0013 min-1). In the prednisolone degradation, the highest degradation rate was obtained with 1 g L-1 of catalyst and natural pH of the drug, 6.8. The toxicity tests showed that neither prednisolone nor water and catalyst mixture are toxic to lettuce seeds, aliquots from reaction, however, had an increase in their toxicity with increasing reaction time.

In fresh waters where cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) flourish, dense growths known as blooms occur. Such blooms present a threat to human and animal health as many of these cyanobacteria produce toxins. One such group of toxins are the microcystins which are hepatotoxic resulting in haemoraging and tumour promotion in the liver. There have been several reports of human poisonings resulting from the presence of cyanotoxins in potable waters, some of which have resulted in fatalities. The most frequently cited cyanotoxin in these poisonings has been microcystin-LR, which has prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to set a guideline for the recommended safe level of this toxin in drinking water of 1 mgl-1. Removal of microcystin-LR from potable waters has proven to be inefficient using conventional water treatment techniques such as coagualtion, filtration and chemical oxidation using chlorine. While activated carbon adsorption and membrane filtration have been shown to physically remove microcystin-LR from water the toxin is not destroyed. Recently the use of photocatalysis was shown to rapidly degrade microcystin-LR even at high concentrations. The process involves the illumination of a titanium dioxide catalyst with ultraviolet (UV) light to produce highly oxidising hydroxyl radicals in solution. While several researchers have demonstrated the process's effectiveness in degrading the toxin none have determined the fate of the compound, or if the toxicity related to microcystin-LR has been removed. This study was carried out to determine if photocatalytic oxidation of microcystin-LR was suitable as a treatment method for potable water supplies. Analysis of treated toxin samples by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photo-diode array detection (PDA) and mass spectroscopy established that the toxin was not completely degraded during photocatalysis. A simple toxicity assessment however indicated that by-products were non-toxic. Using the data from this work a proposed pathway for toxin destruction was produced giving the speculative identity of some of the by-products. The use of hydrogen peroxide to enhance UV mediated destruction of microcystin-LR has been previously reported. There have also been reports of the enhancement of photocatalytiC reaction in the presence of this oxidant. The work carried out in this study demonstrated that the destruction of microcystin-LR by photocatalysis was both more rapid and more efficient when hydrogen peroxide was present in the system. The use of a fixed film flow reactor was also investigated for microcystin-LR destruction. While degradation of the toxin occurred it was demonstrated that batch reactors were more efficient as a treatment method. The effectiveness of the photocatalytic process on microcystin-RR, -LW and -LF was also investigated. While destruction of a" the variants occurred during photocatalytic treatment each microcystin demonstrated different rates and efficiencies of photooxidation. It was concluded from this study that photocatalysis is a promising treatment method for the removal of microcystin-LR and other variants from potable waters. Further research however is required to assess if the tumour promoting effects of microcystin-LR are rendered inactive and to determine the behaviour of the toxins degradation in natural water supplies. The study also allowed for speculation as to how the degradation of the toxin occurred during the photocatalytic process.