<p> The photocatalytic reaction has been integrated as a developing technology for various applications such as air and water remediation, and self-cleaning surfaces. The photocatalysis is an emerging pathway of heterogeneous photocatalysis and physical chemistry. In heterogeneous photocatalysis, semiconductor compounds, mainly TiO<sub>2</sub>, ZnO, CdS, and WO<sub>3</sub>, have been utilized especially for water treatment and contaminant degradation. Various pollutants, such as aromatic compounds, dyes and surface active agents, can be degraded with photocatalytic techniques. Ultraviolet light and visible light are the most important sources of radiation to conduct photocatalytic reactions. </p><p> In this study, we have developed a combined method using microfluidics and photocatalysis for wastewater treatment. This technique represents a promising solution for contaminant degradation that has advantages such as continuous operation, large surface area to volume ratio, rapid response, and fine flow control. The experiment was conducted by exposing samples to UV light with methylene blue as the model pollutant and titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) as the catalyst. The degradation of methylene blue was monitored with spectrophotometry. The effects of variables, such as residence time, chip thickness and intensity have been investigated. The photocatalytic degradation has been determined to be a pseudo-first-order reaction with a rate constant (0.18 <i>C</i><i><sub> C</sub></i><sup>0.334</sup>) related to catalyst concentration. Once optimized, this system could be scaled out to process wastewater at a larger scale.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10108187 |
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
| Creators | Beheshtaein, Setareh |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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