Purification of air and water using solar photocatalysis in a compound parabolic collector reactor

U ovome radu predstavljeno je pročišćavanje vode i zraka solarnom fotokatalizom. Zbog svojstava neštetnosti i ekonomske isplativosti, solarna fotokataliza jedna je od Najbolje Raspoloživih Tehnika (eng. Best Available Techniques) za uklanjanje onečišćivala. Sva ispitivanja provedena su u reaktoru s paraboličnim zrcalima, koji zbog svoje geometrije i prisutnosti zrcala (s ciljem većeg iskorištenja fotokatalizatora) predstavlja optimalan reaktor za proces fotokatalize. Pritom je kao fotokatalizator korišten titanov (IV) oksid nanesen na mat od staklenih vlakana. Cilj eksperimenata bio je ukloniti odabrana mikroonečišćivala iz vode, odnosno amonijak iz struje zraka. U 90 minuta trajanja eksperimenata, sva mikroonečišćivala pokazala su podložnost fotokatalitičkoj oksidaciji te njihov trend razgradnje ovisi perzistentnosti odnosno strukturi same molekule. Nadalje, iz struje zraka uspješno je uklonjeno 50 % amonijaka te se može zaključiti kako ova metoda pročišćavanja ima dobre temelje za uklapanje u konvencionalne sustave pročišćavanja.The paper presents water and air purification by using solar photocatalysis. Due to its harmless properties and cost-effectiveness, solar photocatalysis is one of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for pollutant removal. All experiments were performed in a compound parabolic collector reactor, which is the optimal reactor for a photocatalysis process due to its geometry and the presence of mirrors (with the aim of greater utilization of photocatalysts). Titanium (IV) oxide applied to a fiberglass mat was used as a photocatalyst. The aim of the experiments was to remove selected micro-pollutants from water and ammonia from the air stream. Within 90 minutes of the experiments, all micropollutants showed susceptibility to photocatalytic oxidation and their degradation trend depended on the persistence or structure of the molecule itself. Furthermore, 50% of ammonia was successfully removed from the air stream and it can be concluded that this method of purification has a good foundation for fitting into conventional purification systems