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International Journal of Environment Science and Technology
Center for Environment and Energy Research and Studies (CEERS)
ISSN: 1735-1472 EISSN: 1735-1472
Vol. 12, No. 1, 2015, pp. 317-326
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Bioline Code: st15029
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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International Journal of Environment Science and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2015, pp. 317-326
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Aqueous degradation kinetics of pharmaceutical drug diclofenac by photocatalysis using nanostructured titania–zirconia composite catalyst
Das, L.; Barodia, S.K.; Sengupta, S. & Basu, J.K.
Abstract
Diclofenac (DCF) is an anti-inflammatory
pharmaceutical drug, and its presence in a trace amount in
waste water makes severe environmental pollution. The
degradation of DCF was investigated by a photocatalytic
process in presence of ultra violet irradiation at room
temperature using titania and titania–zirconia nanocomposite
catalysts in a batch reactor. The composite catalyst
was prepared by sol–gel method and characterized by
X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy as well
as BET surface area analyzer. The effect of various process
parameters such as catalyst loading, initial concentration of
DCF and pH of the experimental solution was observed on
the degradation of DCF. The titania–zirconia nanocomposites
exhibited reasonably higher photocatalytic activity
than that of anatase form of titania without zirconia. The
maximum removal of DCF of about 92.41 % was achieved
using Zr/Ti mass ratio of 11.8 wt% composite catalyst. A
rate equation was proposed for the degradation of DCF
using the composite catalyst. The values of rate constant
(kc) and adsorption equilibrium constant (K1) were found to
vary with the catalyst content in the reaction mixture.
Keywords
Nanocomposite catalyst; Photodegradation; Diclofenac; Kinetic model
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