Premium
Investigation of the applicability of TiO 2 , BiVO 4 , and WO 3 nanomaterials for advanced photocatalytic membranes used for oil‐in‐water emulsion separation
Author(s) -
Nascimben Santos Erika,
Ágoston Áron,
Kertész Szabolcs,
Hodúr Cecilia,
László Zsuzsanna,
Pap Zsolt,
Kása Zsolt,
Alapi Tünde,
Krishnan S.A. Gokula,
Arthanareeswaran Gangasalam,
Hernadi Klara,
Veréb Gábor
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.348
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 1932-2135
DOI - 10.1002/apj.2549
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , filtration (mathematics) , materials science , coating , chemical engineering , membrane , polyvinylidene fluoride , nanomaterials , emulsion , composite number , fouling , composite material , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics , polymer , engineering
In the present study, a commercial TiO 2 , several BiVO 4 photocatalysts, a WO 3 nanomaterial, and their composites were used to prepare photocatalytic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafilter membranes. Their photocatalytic activities and the effects of coatings on the filtration of oil‐in‐water emulsion (crude oil; c oil = 100 mg L −1 ) were investigated. Fluxes, filtration resistances, purification efficiencies, and fouling resistance abilities—like flux decay ratios (FDRs) and flux recovery ratios (FRRs)—were compared. The solar light‐induced photocatalytic decomposition of the foulants was also investigated. WO 3 was used as a composite component to suppress the electron–hole recombination with the goal of achieving higher photocatalytic activity, but the presence of WO 3 was not beneficial concerning the filtration properties. However, the application of TiO 2 , one of the investigated BiVO 4 photocatalysts, and their composites was also beneficial. In the case of the neat membrane, only 87 L m −2 h −1 flux was measured, whereas with the most beneficial BiVO 4 coating, 464 L m −2 h −1 flux was achieved. Pure BiVO 4 coating was more beneficial in terms of filtration properties, whereas pure TiO 2 coating proved to be more beneficial concerning the photocatalytic regeneration of the membrane. The TiO 2 (80%)/BiVO 4 (20%) composite was estimated to be the most beneficial combination taking into account both the aspects of photocatalytic activity and filtration properties.