Integrating adsorption and photocatalysis: A cost effective strategy for textile wastewater treatment using hybrid biochar-TiO2 composite

Tahir Fazal; Abdul Razzaq; Fahed Javed; Ainy Hafeez; Naim Rashid; Ume Salma Amjad; Muhammad Saif Ur Rehman; Abrar Faisal; Fahad Rehman

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121623

Integrating adsorption and photocatalysis: A cost effective strategy for textile wastewater treatment using hybrid biochar-TiO₂ composite

J Hazard Mater. 2020 May 15:390:121623. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121623. Epub 2019 Nov 10.

Authors

Tahir Fazal¹, Abdul Razzaq², Fahed Javed², Ainy Hafeez², Naim Rashid², Ume Salma Amjad², Muhammad Saif Ur Rehman³, Abrar Faisal², Fahad Rehman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Biorefinery Engineering and Microfluidics (BEAM) Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan; Department of Chemical Engineering, Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.
² Biorefinery Engineering and Microfluidics (BEAM) Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. Electronic address: saif@kfueit.edu.pk.
⁴ Biorefinery Engineering and Microfluidics (BEAM) Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan. Electronic address: frehman@cuilahore.edu.pk.

PMID: 31753670
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121623

Abstract

TiO₂ based photocatalysts are extensively used for textile wastewater treatment as they are ecofriendly, inexpensive, easily available, nontoxic and have higher photostabililty. However, their wider band gap, charge carrier's recombination, and utilization of light absorbance limits their performance. In the present work, a hybrid biochar-TiO₂ composite (BCT) has been synthesized by a facile synthesis strategy to overcome these problems. These photocatalysts are characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) to evaluate their crystallinity, morphology, functional groups, bandgap energy and charge separation properties, respectively. The photodegradation of simulated textile wastewater is analyzed using hybrid composites. The hybrid biochar-TiO₂ composite showed higher charge separation, slow recombination of electron-hole pairs, and enhanced light absorption as compared to control (pure TiO₂ and BC alone). 99.20 % photodegradation efficiency of dye-simulated wastewater is achieved employing optimum hybrid composite, while the pure biochar and TiO₂ samples exhibits 85.20 % and 42.60 % efficiencies, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity is obtained for hybrid biochar-TiO₂ sample, 74.30 mgg^-1 in comparison to biochar (30.40 mgg^-1) and pure TiO₂ (1.50 mgg^-1). The results show that hybrid biochar-TiO₂ composites can perform in the target application of organic industrial pollutant removal.

Keywords: Adsorption; Biochar; Hybrid Biochar-TiO(2) composite; Macroalgae; Methylene blue; Photocatalysis; Textile wastewater treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Catalysis
Charcoal / chemistry*
Coloring Agents / chemistry*
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Light*
Methylene Blue / chemistry*
Photochemical Processes
Seaweed
Textiles
Titanium / chemistry
Titanium / radiation effects*
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
Water Purification / economics
Water Purification / methods*

Substances

Coloring Agents
Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
biochar
titanium dioxide
Charcoal
Titanium
Methylene Blue