Efficiency of Silver Doped Titanium Dioxide Stabilized on Concrete Bed in Removal of Phenol by Photocatalytic Processes in Synthetic Sewage

Background and purpose: Phenol is amongst the dangerous environmental pollutants with wide applications in today’s life and industry. Nanoparticles have recently received attention for decomposition of these organic compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of silver doped titanium dioxide stabilized on concrete bed via photocatalytic process Ag-TiO2/UV in removal of phenol from synthetic wastewater. Materials and methods: In this experimental-applied study, the volume of sample was 1000 ml. Initial concentrations were 10, 20, 50, and 100 mg/l and the samples were separately investigated under the effect of UV radiation and Ag-TiO2. The experiment was then performed under both conditions simultaneously. The variables included pH, initial phenol concentration, storage time, and photocatalyst loading. Phenol analysis was carried out by direct light metering with 4-aminoantipyrine reagent at 500 nm wavelength spectrophotometer according to standard method D5530. We studied the pH in three ranges (5, 7, and 10) and photocatalyst in three regions (20, 60, and 80 g/m2). Results: Based on the results, the highest levels of phenol decomposition were achieved by initial concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/l in optimal pH (3) at 40 and 80 minutes (100%), and initial concentrations of 50 and 100 mg at 180 and 200 minutes retention time in optimal pH (65% and 50%, respectively). The optimal photocatalyst loading rate was 80 g/m2. Conclusion: This study showed that the Ag-TiO2 nanophotocatalyst stabilized on a concrete bed, is efficient in phenol decomposition in presence of UV light.