Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A using TiO_2 and its separation by submerged hollowfiber ultrafiltration membrane

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Lee, Jae-Wook | Kwon, Tae-Ouk | Thiruvenkatachari, Ramesh | Moon, Il-Shik

Affiliations: Department of Chemistry Engineer, Seonam University, Namwon 590-711, Korea | Department of Chemistry Engineer, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 540-742, Korea

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: This study evaluates the adsorption ability of bisphenol A (BPA) on titanium dioxide (TiO_2) and its effect on the photocatalysis by advanced oxidation process using UV radiation and TiO_2 photocatalyst. Degradation of BPA was also evaluated for the system without adsorption prior to photocatalytic reaction. The separation of TiO_2 from BPA solution treated by pilot-scale photocatalytic reactor (capacity 0.16 m^3) was studied using submerged ultrafiltration (UF) membrane. It was found that although adsorption capacity of BPA was not high, adsorption played an important role in improving the efficiency ofphotocatalysis. On the other hand, during the separation of TiO_2 particles from aqueous suspension, the permeate flux of the membrane was strongly affected by transmembrane pressure and TiO_2 dose. The permeate turbidity was decreased below 1 NTU.

Keywords: bisphenol A, TiO[TeX:] _2, adsorption, membrane, photocatalysis

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 193-200, 2006