Visible-light-driven photocatalytic disinfection of raw surface waters (300-5000 CFU/mL) using reusable coated Ru/WO3/ZrO2

Mohamed Fouad; Mohamed Gar Alalm; Hisham Kh El-Etriby; Daria Camilla Boffito; Shinichi Ookawara; Teruhisa Ohno; Manabu Fujii

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123514

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic disinfection of raw surface waters (300-5000 CFU/mL) using reusable coated Ru/WO₃/ZrO₂

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Jan 15:402:123514. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123514. Epub 2020 Jul 17.

Authors

Mohamed Fouad¹, Mohamed Gar Alalm², Hisham Kh El-Etriby¹, Daria Camilla Boffito³, Shinichi Ookawara⁴, Teruhisa Ohno⁵, Manabu Fujii⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Works Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
² Department of Public Works Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. Electronic address: garalalm.aa@m.titech.ac.jp.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, C.P. 6079, Succ. CV Montréal, H3C 3A7 Québec, Canada.
⁴ Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
⁵ Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 1-1 Sensuicho, Tobata, Kitakyushu 804-8550, Japan.
⁶ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.

PMID: 32717546
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123514

Abstract

We selected ruthenium (Ru) to improve the photocatalytic activity of a WO₃/ZrO₂ composite. The synthesized Ru/WO₃/ZrO₂ was then compared to a benchmark photocatalyst (S-TiO₂) in terms of photocatalytic disinfection of raw surface waters collected from the Nile Delta region, Egypt. The photocatalysts were immobilized on aluminum plates with polysiloxane to test them in repetitive cycles under the irradiation of a metal-halide lamp. Bacterial concentrations in the raw waters ranged from 300 to 5000 CFU/mL (CFU: colony-forming units) and different species and genus were detected including gram-negative (e.g., shigella, salmonella, vibrio parahaemolyticus, and vibrio cholera) and gram-positive bacteria (e.g., enterococcus). Ru/WO₃/ZrO₂ deactivated over 90 % of the bacterial content within 120 min for most sources, whereas S-TiO₂ did not perform as highly. The bacterial count after 240 min of irradiation was below the detection limit for all different water sources. Moreover, the inhabitation of photocatalytic disinfection by natural organic matter (NOM) was investigated. Ru/WO₃/ZrO₂ was stable for four continuous cycles (960 min in total), suggesting the viability for practical application.

Keywords: Bacteria; Disinfection; Kinetics; Photocatalysis; Tungsten.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Catalysis
Disinfection*
Light
Ruthenium*
Titanium

Substances

Ruthenium
Titanium