Titania nano-coated quartz wool for the photocatalytic mineralisation of emerging organic contaminants

Many emerging contaminants pass through conventional wastewater treatment plants, contaminating surface and drinking water. The implementation of advanced oxidation processes in existing plants for emerging contaminant remediation is one of the challenges for the enhancement of water quality in the industrialised countries. This paper reports on the production of a TiO2 nano-layer on quartz wool in a relevant amount, its characterisation by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and its use as a photocatalyst under ultraviolet radiation for the simultaneous mineralisation of five emerging organic contaminants (benzophenone-3, benzophenone-4, carbamazepine, diclofenac, and triton X-100) dissolved in deionised water and tap water. This treatment was compared with direct ultraviolet photolysis and with photocatalytic degradation on commercial TiO2 micropearls. The disappearance of every pollutant was measured by high performance liquid chromatography and mineralisation was assessed by the determination of total organic carbon. After 4 hours of treatment with the TiO2 nano-coated quartz wool, the mineralisation exceeds 90% in deionised water and is about 70% in tap water. This catalyst was reused for seven cycles without significant efficiency loss.

Gasphasen-Reaktionen, 91 [1-3]Thermische und heterogen-katalysierte N2-Abspaltung aus Azo-Verbindungen R–N=N–R (R = CH3, C3H5, C6H5) / Gas Phase Reactions, 91 [1-3]Thermal and Heterogeneously Catalyzed N2 Elimination of Azo-Compounds R–N=N–R (R = CH3, C3H5, C6H5)

Thermal decompositions of azo compounds in the gas phase under reduced pressure are further investigated using photoelectron spectroscopic gas analysis. Passing diallyl, diphenyl and phenylmethyl derivatives either through a short-pathway pyrolysis (SPP) apparatus or through an external thermal reactor (ETR) results in the following fragmentations: Under nearly unimolecular conditions (SPP, 10-4 mbar pressure), diallyldiazene decomposes above 600 K to N2 and hexadiene-1,5 with the allyl radical as a detectable intermediate. The PE spectra recorded for diphenyldiazene above 1000 K (ETR, 1-2 mbar pressure) show N2, benzene, as well as traces of diphenyl. Phenylmethyldiazene yields above 800 K (SPP) predominantly N2, toluene, diphenyl and ethane with the methyl radical as the only detectable intermediate. Insertion of quartz wool into the pyrolysis tube (ETR) lowers the fragmentation temperatures, and in addition, above 850 K, HCN and aniline are PE spectroscopically identified. Surprisingly, this second reaction channel can be heterogeneously catalyzed: phenylmethyldiazene decomposes under 10-2 mbar pressure at a [Ni/SiO2] catalyst surface selectively to HCN and aniline.