• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.170-173
• /
• 2009

This study examined the special technique of photocatalytic degradation (RPODisk) for removal of taste and odor causing materials, algae, and algal toxin. The RPODisk was effective for removal of these troublesome contaminants. It outperformed the fixed media and the UV irradiation for geosmin removal. The RPODisk performance was comparable to the combination of the UV irradiation with TiO2. The RPODisk performance was affected by the rotating speed. The faster the speed was, the better the performance. The RPODisk was also effective for removal of algae and algal toxin. The algal activity reduced by 80% after 30 mins of the treatment. More toxic microcystin (MC)-LR was more difficult to remove than MC-RR. The times for 50% removal were 23.7 mins for MC-LR and 14.1 mins for MC-RR. Almost 100 mins of the contact time was required to completely remove MC-LR at the rotating speed of 260 rpm.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.80-86
• /
• 2013

In this study, the photocatalytic reactor system equipped with photocatalyst-carrying-silica-media cartridges [photocatalytic reactor system (1)] was used to perform the treatment of waste air containing malodor and volatile organic compound (VOC). The result of its performance was evaluated and compared with that of the photocatalytic reactor system equipped with commercial photocatalyst-carrying-nonwoven filter-media cartridges [photocatalytic reactor system (2)]. In case of photocatalytic reactor system (1), at the 1st stage of run the removal efficiencies of ethanol and toluene continued to be 80% and 20%, respectively. However, unlike toluene, the removal efficiency of ethanol dropped to 40% at the end of the 1st stage of run. The removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide decreased from 100% to 90%. At the 2nd stage of its run the removal efficiency of ethanol decreased to 10% while the removal efficiencies of hydrogen sulfide and toluene remained as same as 90% and 20%, respectively, even though the inlet load of toluene increased by factor of four. In the 3rd stage of its run, as the result of application of aluminium-coated reflector film to the inner wall of photocatalytic reactor system, the removal efficiencies of ethanol and toluene increased by 5% to be 15% and 25%, respectively. In case of photocatalytic reactor system (2), at the 1st stage of its run, the removal efficiencies of ethanol, hydrogen sulfide and toluene continued to be 10%, 97% and 100%, respectively. However, at 2nd stage of its run their removal efficiencies became 5%, 95% and 2~3%, respectively, which showed that the removal efficiencies of ethanol and hydrogen sulfide decreased insignificantly while the removal efficiency of toluene dropped significantly from the perfect elimination. Moreover, the reflector film did not affect the performance of photocatalytic reactor system (2) at all. Therefore the removal of ethanol, hydrogen sulfide and toluene by photocatalytic reactor system (2) was mainly attributed to hydrophobic adsorption of its nonwoven filter media and its extent of photocatalytic removal turned out to be negligible, compared to that of photocatalytic reactor system (1).

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.952-959
• /
• 2012

The photocatalytic reactor was designed to have improved efficiency by enhancing a light intensity of photocatalytic reactor using a reflector coated on the surface at the outer radius of annular shaped photocatalytic reactor. The improved photocatalytic reactor performed to treat waste air containing malodor and VOC with the enhanced light intensity, of which the effect on their removal efficiency was investigated. The intensities of illumination of the improved photocatalytic reactor filled with porous silica-based media and nonporous glass bead media carrying photocatalyst were observed to increase by 28.5% and 30.1%, respectively, compared to those of photocatalytic reactor without any reflector. Using the improved photocatalytic reactor filled with porous silica-based media and nonporous glass bead media carrying photocatalyst, the removal efficiencies were enhanced by 2~3% and insignificantly, respectively. The removal efficiencies of the optimized photocatalytic reactor with reflectors, filled with porous silica-based media carrying photocatalyst, were observed to increase by 26% and 60%, compared to those of photocatalytic reactor (i.e., 19% and 53%), without any reflector, filled with nonporous glass bead media carrying photocatalyst, for hydrogen sulfide and toluene, respectively. The roughness of used reflector surface was measured to be ca. four times as big as that of a commercial mirror. However, their removal efficiencies are expected to be enhanced by increasing an light intensity resulting from lowering the roughness of used reflector coated on the improved photocatalytic reactor in the future.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2004

In Bok-Jeong water treatment plant, chlorination is the only technique used for disinfection of drinking water. This disinfecting treatment leads to the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs). This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of improving removal efficiency of THM precursor in the conventional water treatment processes by $TiO_2$ photocatalytic oxidation. Removal efficiencies of DOC, $UV_{254}$, THMFP were low in the conventional water treatment processes. With application of $TiO_2$ photocatalyst, DOC, $UV_{254}$, THMFP were reduced more effectively. As the $TiO_2$ photocatalytic reaction time increased, the removal efficiencies of DOC, $UV_{254}$, THMFP were increased. The $TiO_2$ photocatalytic removal efficiencies of DOC, $UV_{254}$, THMFP were increased with increasing $TiO_2$ dosage. However, over 0.6g/l of $TiO_2$ dosage, the efficiency reached a plateau.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.223-229
• /
• 2022

A porous photocatalyst concrete filter was successfully produced to remove NOx, by mixing TiO₂ photocatalyst with lightweight aerated concrete. Ultra Fine Bubbles were used to form continuous pores inside the porous photocatalytic concrete filter, which was mixed via a bubble generation experiment. The optimal mixing condition was determined to be with 4 % of the bubble generation agent B. NO removal specimens were prepared for various photocatalytic loading conditions, and the specimen containing 3 % P-25 removed NO at a concentration of 1.03 µmol in 1 h. The NO removal rate of the porous photocatalytic concrete filter prepared in this study was 10.99 %. This photocatalytic filter performance was more than 9 times the amount of NO removed by a general photocatalytic filter. The porous photocatalyst concrete filter for removing NOx developed in this study can be applied to various construction sites and the air quality can be solved by reducing NOx contributing to the formation of fine particles.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.211-218
• /
• 2009

Feasibility study of using $Ti0_2$ mist generated by ultrasonic atomization for photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene was attempted in this study. For this, the photocatalytic reactor consisting of mist generator and photo-reactor was designed. Most of experimental results showed that steady state reached about 30 minutes after the start of experiments. The effects of $Ti0_2$ concentration, toluene concentration, and UV wavelength on toluene removal ratio were investigated. It was found that the highest removal efficiency was obtained when $Ti0_2$ concentration was 0.6 g/L in slurry. At this condition, it was found that the toluene removal efficiency increased as toluene concentration in feed decreased. In order to investigate the effect of UV wavelength, experiments were carried out using three UV lamps with different UV wavelength. The results showed that the highest removal efficiency was achieved when the lamp with the shortest wavelength were employed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.197-202
• /
• 2008

This study evaluated the photocatalytic oxidation of BPA using the RPOD reactor under various conditions. This study found that the RPOD was effective for BPA degradation. It could reduce 1 mg/L of BPA by half within 5 min under the optimum conditions. According to the study results, $TiO_2$ coating was important for the BPA oxidation. As the coating thickness increased, the removal efficiency improved. The light source, the light intensity and the drum rotating speed were important for the oxidation. The UV light was more effective for the BPA degradation than the visible light. The removal efficiency improved with increasing intensity. As the drum speed increased, the removal efficiency improved. The maximum speed was 240 rpm in this study. Addition of air and nitrogen was not beneficial for the BPA degradation in this study probably due to enough oxygen in the water.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.389-398
• /
• 2000

Photocatalytic removal of benzene from air was examined using titanium dioxide photocatalyst films prepared on soda lime glass(50$\times$50$\times$2 mm) by spin coating and chemical vapor deposition. For the measurement of photocatalytic reactivity titanium dioxide coated glass was placed into a batch reactor and concentration of benzene in the reactor was set to abuot 100 ppm, and then illuminated with UV. It was found that catalytic reactivity of titanium dioxide films increased with the increase of titanium dioxide film thickness and then level off beyond a certain film thickness. UV absorption by the films showed the similar trend. The formation of stoichiometric amount of carbon dioxide was confirmed by measurement of carbon dioxide concentration in the reactor. In general spin coated films revealed better photocatalytic reactivity than chemically deposited one within the experimental ranges covered in this study. Morphology and crystal structure of prepared films were investigated by XRD and SEM and they showed significant difference between spin coated films and CVD films. Highest quantum efficiency of prepared titanium dioxide photocatalyst was close to 50%.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.18 no.11
• /
• pp.1215-1224
• /
• 2009

This study evaluated the applicability of visible-light-driven N- and S-doped titanium dioxide($TiO_2$) for the control of low-level dimethyl sulfide(DMS) and dimethyl disulfide(DMDS). In addition, a photocatalytic unit(PU)-adsorption hybrid was evaluated in order to examine the removal of DMS and DMDS which exited the PU and a gaseous photocatalytic byproduct($SO_2$) which was generated during the photocatalytic processes. Fourier-Tranform-Infrared(FTIR) spectrum exhibited different surface characteristics among the three-types of catalysts. For the N- and S-doped $TiO_2$ powders, a shift of the absorbance spectrum towards the visible-light region was observed. The absorption edge for both the N- and S-doped $TiO_2$ was shifted to $\lambda$ 720 nm. The N-doped $TiO_2$ was superior to the S-doped $TiO_2$ in regards to DMS degradation. Under low input concentration(IC) conditions(0.039 and 0.027 ppm for DMS and DMDS, respectively), the N-doped $TiO_2$ revealed a high DMS removal efficiency(above 95%), but a gradual decreasing removal efficiency under high IC conditions(7.8 and 5.4 ppm for DMS and DMDS, respectively). Although the hybrid system exhibited a superior characteristic to PU alone regarding the removal efficiencies of both DMS and DMDS, this capability decreased during the course of a photocatalytic process under the high IC conditions. The present study identified the generation of sulfate ion on the catalyst surface and sulfur dioxide(maximum concentrations of 0.0019 and 0.0074 ppm for the photocatalytic processes of DMS and DMDS, respectively) in effluent gas of PU. However, this generation of $TiO_2$ would be an insignificant addition to indoor air quality levels.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.329-335
• /
• 2015

The effects of ion-doping on $TiO_2$ nanotubes were investigated to obtain the optimal catalyst for the effective decomposition of Rhodamine B (RB) through UV photocatalytic oxidation process. Changing the calcination temperature, which changed the weight fractions of the anatase phase, the average crystallite sizes, the BET surface area, and the energy band gap of the catalyst, affected the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. The ionic radius, valence state, and configuration of the dopant also affected the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts on RB removal increased when $Ag^+$, $Al^{3+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ were doped into the $TiO_2$ nanotubes, whereas such activities decreased as a result of $Mn^{2+}$ or $Ni^{2+}$ doping. In the presence of $Zn^{2+}$-doped $TiO_2$ nanotubes calcined at $550^{\circ}C$, the removal efficiency of RB within 50 min was 98.7%.