• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.584-595
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• 2021

In this study, the correlation between operating stages of waste air-treating system composed of two alternatively-operating UV/photocatalytic reactors, and the deactivation of photocatalyst used in each operating stage, was investigated by instrumental analysis thereon. The repeated deactivation and subsequent re-generation of photocatalyst used in the waste air treating system of previous investigation performed by Lee and Lim (Korean Chem. Eng. Research, 59(4), 574-583(2021)), were characterized on virgin photocatalyst-carrying porous SiO₂ media (A4), used photocatalyst-carrying porous SiO₂ media (A1, A2 and A3) collected from the corresponding photocatalytic reactor upon 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd run, respectively, regenerated photocatalyst-carrying porous SiO₂ media upon 1 time-run (AD1) and 3 times regenerated photocatalyst-carrying porous SiO₂ media upon 3 time-runs (AD3) by instrumental analysis including BET analysis, SEM, XPS, SEM-EDS and FT-IR. As a result, the proper regeneration-temperature for deactivated photocatalyst to be regenerated several times (more than 3 times), was suggested below 200 ℃. Such temperature of deactivated photocatalyst-regeneration was almost consistent to the one, according to BET analysis, at which tiny nano-pores blocked by adsorbed ethanol-oxidative and degraded intermediates (AEODI), were regenerated to be reopened through almost complete mineralization of AEODI. In particular, the results of XPS analysis indicated an incurrence of insignificant deactivation of photocatalysis upon 1^st run of UV/photocatalytic reactor (A or C) of the previous investigation. In addition, the results of XPS analysis were consistent with the experimental results of the previous investigation in that 1) deactivation of photocatalyst incurred during 2^nd run of the UV/photocatalytic reactor (A or C) resulted in decreased removal efficiency, by ca. 5% and 5%, of ethanol and hydrogen sulfide, respectively, compared with its 1^st run; 2) there was insignificant difference between the removal efficiencies of its 2^nd run and 3^rd run. Furthermore, the removal efficiencies of ethanol and hydrogen sulfide for hypothetical 4^th run of photocatalytic reactor in the previous investigation, using AD3, were expected to decrease, compared with its 3^rd run, by much more than those for 2^nd run in the previous investigation did, compared with its 1^st run.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.58-64
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• 2000

The photocatalytic removal of Ag(I) in water by $TiO_2$ at a various conditions, which are initial Ag(I) concentration, circulation flow rate, $TiO_2$ dosage and methanol concentration, was studied. A continuous flow system with a circular type reactor of the TiO2 suspensions with UV light through an photoreactor column was applied. The major results of this study were as follows; 1. First order kinetics was observed from the result at different initial concentration of Ag(I). As the initial Ag(I) concentration was incereased, the reaction rate was decreased. 2. The removal efficiency of Ag(I) increased with increasing the circulation flow rate and $TiO_2$ dosage. However, over $4{\ell}/min$ of circulation flow rate and $1.5g/{\ell}$ of $TiO_2$ dosage, increasing of the efficiency reached a plateau. 3. The addition of methanol as hole scavenger enhanced the removal efficiency of Ag(I) but the removal efficiency reached a plateau over some level of methanol. 4. It was found that $TiO_2$ photocatalysis was effective method to remove of Ag(I) from aqueous solution.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2008

Food wastewater derived from the three-stage methane fermentation system developed in this lab contained high concentration organic substances. The organic wastewater should be treated through advanced wastewater treatment system to satisfy the "Permissible Pollutant Discharge Standard of Korea". In order to treat the organic wastewater efficiently, several optimum operation conditions of a modified $UV/TiO_{2}$ photocatalytic system have been investigated. In the first process, wastewater was pre-treated with $FeCl_{3}$. The optimum pH and coagulant concentration were 4.0 and 2000mg/L, respectively. Through this process, 52.6% of CODcr was removed. The second process was $UV-TiO_{2}$ photocatalytic reaction. The optimum operation conditions for the system were as follows: UV lamp wavelength, 254 nm; wastewater temperature, $40^{\circ}C$; pH 8.0; and air flow rate, 40L/min, respectively. Through the above two combined processes, 69.7% of T-N and 70.9% of CODcr contained in the wastewater were removed.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2005

Application of a new photocatalyst has been attempted to improve the efficiency and rates of photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes by using a model dye such as Methyl Orange. As a new photocatalyst, $TiO_2$ encapsulated EFAL-removed zeolite Y ($TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite Y) has been synthesized by ion-exchange in the mixture of EFAL-removed zeolite Y with 0.05 M aqueous [$(NH_4)_2 TiO(C_2O_4)_2.H_2O$] [$TiO(C_2O_4)_2.H_2O$]. This new photocatalyst has been characterized by measuring XRD, IR and reflectance absorption spectra as well as ICP analysis, and it was found that the framework structure of $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite Y is not changed by removing the extra-framework aluminum (EFAL) from the normal zeolite Y and the $TiO_2$ inside the photocatalyst exists in the form of $(TiO^{2+})_n$ nanoclusters. Based on the ICP analysis, the Si/Al ratio of the $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite Y and the weight of $TiO_2$ were determined to be 23 and 0.061g in 1.0g photocatalyst, respectively. It was also found that adsorption of the azo dye in the $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite is very effective (about 80 % of the substrate used). This efficient adsorption contributes to the synergistic photocatalytic activities of the $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite by minimizing the required flux diffusion of the substrate. Thus, the photocatalytic reduction of methyl orange (MO) was found to be 8 times more effective in the presence of $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite Y than in the presence of $TiO_2$ /normal zeolite Y. Furthermore, the photocatalytic reduction of MO by using 1.0 g of the $TiO_2$ /EFAL-removed zeolite Y containing 0.061g of $TiO_2$ is much faster than that carried out by using 1.0 g of Degussa P-25.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.419-425
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• 2012

This work explored the characteristics and the photocatalytic activities of S element-doped $TiO_2$ (S-$TiO_2$) and N element-doped $TiO_2$ (N-$TiO_2$) for the decomposition of gas-phase isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at sub-ppm concentrations, using a plug-flow reactor irradiated by 8-W daylight lamp or visible light-emitting-diodes (LEDs). In addition, the generation yield of acetone during photocatalytic processes for IPA at sub-ppm levels was examined. The surface characteristics of prepared S- and N-$TiO_2$ photocatalysts were analyzed to indicate that they could be effectively activated by visible-light irradiation. Regarding both types of photocatalysts, the cleaning efficiency of IPA increased as the air flow rate (AFR) was decreased. The average cleaning efficiency determined via the S-$TiO_2$ system for the AFR of 2.0 L $min^{-1}$ was 39%, whereas it was close to 100% for the AFR of 0.1 L $min^{-1}$. Regarding the N-$TiO_2$ system, the average cleaning efficiency for the AFR of 2.0 L $min^{-1}$ was above 90%, whereas it was still close to 100% for the AFR of 0.1 L $min^{-1}$. In contrast to the cleaning efficiencies of IPA, both types of photocatalysts revealed a decreasing trend in the generation yields of acetone with decreasing the AFR. Consequently, the N-$TiO_2$ system was preferred for cleaning of sub-ppm IPA to S-$TiO_2$ system and should be operated under low AFR conditions to minimize the acetone generation. In addition, 8-W daylight lamp exhibited higher cleaning efficiency of IPA than for visible LEDs.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2003

TiO$_2$ sol was prepared by sol-gel method, and this sol was coated in ceramic and glass bead by dip-coating method. The coated catalyst was applied to degrade benzene in the gas phase by exposing to UV -lamp (365 nm) in a batch reactor. The removal efficiency of the benzene was compared by changing various conditions such as the kind of chemical additives, the coating beads (ceramic and glass), solution pH, the initial concentration of TiO$_2$ sol, UV intensity, and benzene concentration. The physical structure of TiO$_2$ sol used in this study was found to be pu-rely anatase type from XRD analysis. The results showed that ceramic bead was effective as the coating agent rath-er than glass bead. The significant change in the benzene removal efficiency of benzene did not occur with chang-ing coating frequency and the initial concentration of TiO$_2$ sol. The removal efficiency of benzene increased with increasing UV intensity, and with acidic treatment of TiO$_2$-coated ceramic bead.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.431-438
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• 2005

In order to apply the photocatalytic decomposition of aromatic VOCs, adsorbent prepared from MSWI fly ash was coated by $TiO_2$ solution to endow with photo-catalytic function. The effects of coating number, existence of light source and the type of $TiO_2$ solution used for coating were examined. Adsorbent coated with amorphous $TiO_2$ solution showed higher adsorptivity than adsorbent coated with crystal $TiO_2$ solution. Without light source, breakthrough curve of photo -catalyst absorbent for VOCs removal was similar to that of absorbent made from MSWI fly ash. On the other hand, breakthrough time was enlarged with light source and total removal efficiency of benzene and toluene was also increased. It can be explained as photo-decomposition effect of $TiO_2$ photo-catalyst. Total removal efficiency of benzene and toluene was increased according to the increase of coating number with light source. It was due to the effect of adsorption and photo reaction of photo-catalytic adsorbent. But total removal efficiency of benzene was lower than that of toluene. Because benzene was removed more effectively than toluene by adsorption, but photo - decomposition effect oi toluene was more high than benzene.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.215-224
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• 2017

Arsenic (As) is known to be the most toxic element and frequently detected in groundwater environment. Inorganic As exists as arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] in reduced and oxidized environments, respectively. It has been reported that the toxicity of arsenite is much higher than that of arsenate and furthermore arsenite shows relatively higher mobility in aqueous environments. For this reason, there have been numerous researches on the process for oxidation of arsenite to arsenate to reduce the toxicity of arsenic. In particular, photooxidation has been considered to be simple, economical, and efficient to attain such goal. This study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of naturally-occurring goethite as a photocatalyst to substitute for $TiO_2$ which has been mostly used in the photooxidation processes so far. In addition, the effects of several factors on the overall performance of arsenite photocatalytic oxidation process were evaluated. The results show that the efficiency of the process was affected by total concentration of dissolved cations rather than by the kind of those cations and also the relatively higher pH conditions seemed to be more favorable to the process. In the case of coexistence of arsenite and arsenate, the removal tendency by adsorption onto goethite appeared to be different between arsenite and arsenate due to their different affinities with goethite, but any effect on the photocatalytic oxidation of arsenite was not observed. In terms of effect of humic acid on the process, it is likely that the higher concentration of humic acid reduced the overall performance of the arsenite photocatalytic oxidation as a result of competing interaction of activated oxygen species, such as hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, with arsenite and humic acid. In addition, it is revealed that the injection of oxygen gas improved the process because oxygen contributes to arsenite oxidation as an electron acceptor. Based on the results of the study, consequently, the photocatalytic oxidation of aqueous arsenite using goethite seems to be greatly feasible with the optimization of process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.771-780
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• 2014

In this study, the various organic supports (i.e., silicone, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, epoxy, and, butadiene rubber) with great sorption capacity of organic contaminants were chosen to develop nano-ZnO/organic composites (NZOCs) and to prevent the detachment of nano-ZnO particles. The water resistance of the developed NZOCs were evaluated, and the feasibility of the developed NZOCs were investigated by evaluating the removal efficiency of 1,1,2-trichloroethylene (TCE) in the aqueous phase. Based on the results from water-resistance experiments, long-term water treatment usage of all NZOCs was found to be feasible. According to the FE-SEM, EDX, and imaging analysis, nano-ZnO/butadiene rubber composite (NZBC) with various sizes and types of porosity and crack was measured to be coated with relatively homogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles whereas nano-ZnO/silicone composite (NZSC), nano-ZnO/ABS composite (NZAC), and nano-ZnO/epoxy composite (NZEC) with poorly-developed porosity and crack were measured to be coated with relatively heterogeneously-distributed nano-ZnO particles. The sorption capacity of NZBC was close to 60% relative to the initial concentration, and this result was mainly attributed to the amorphous structure of NZBC, hence the hydrophobic partitioning of TCE to the amorphous structure of NZBC intensively occurred. The removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was close to 99% relative to the initial concentration, and the removal efficiency of TCE was improved as the amount of NZBC increased. These results stemmed from the synergistic mechanisms with great sorption capability of butadiene rubber and superior photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO. Finally, the removal efficiency of TCE in aqueous phase using NZBC was well represented by linear model ($R^2{\geq}0.936$), and the $K_{app}$ values of NZBC were from 2.64 to 3.85 times greater than those of $K_{photolysis}$, indicating that butadiene rubber was found to be the suitable organic supporting materials with enhanced sorption capacity and without inhibition of photocatalytic activities of nano-ZnO.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3521-3526
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• 2014

A magnetic sonophotocatalyst $Fe_3O_4@SiO_2@TiO_2$ is synthesized for the enhanced biodegradability of organophosphate pesticide. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized using different techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The radial sonophotocatalytic activity of $Fe_3O_4@SiO_2@TiO_2$ nanocomposite was investigated, in which commercial dichlorvos (DDVP) was chosen as an object. The degradation efficiency was evaluated in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and enhancement of biodegradability. The effect of different factors, such as reaction time, pH, the added amount of catalyst on $COD_{Cr}$ removal efficiency were investigated. The average $COD_{Cr}$ removal efficiency reached 63.13% after 240 min in 12 L sonophotocatalytic reactor (catalyst $0.2gL^{-1}$, pH 7.3). The synergistic effect occurs in the combined sonolysis and photocatalysis which is proved by the significant improvement in $COD_{Cr}$ removal efficiency compared with that of solo photocatalysis. Under this experimental condition, the $BOD_5/COD_{Cr}$ ratio rose from 0.131 to 0.411, showing a remarkable improvement in biodegradability. These results showed that sonophotocatalysis may be applied as pre-treatment of pesticide wastewater, and then for biological treatment. The synthesized magnetic nanocomposite had good photocatalytic performance and stability, as when it was used for the fifth time, the $COD_{Cr}$ removal efficiency was still about 62.38%.