1.

Introduction

The aim and scope of the first exercise is to carry out the photocatalytic degradation of phenol
in TiO2 suspension in a pilot installation followed by a spectrophotometric determination of
phenol concentration and calculation of mass balance.

We used a small scale. Instead of led lamps we use Mercury lamp which holds UV spectrum:

In our apparatus we prepare our suspension solution with 50 mg/L of phenol solution and 2 g
of the photocatalyst.

The result is:

The solution is stirred, and we insert our mercury lamp the light that it emits is greenish blue.

The reactor should be covered with aluminium paper because UV light is released by the
mercury lamp and its rupture releases mercury vapor that increases the risk of mercury
poisoning. Toxic effects include damage to the brain, kidneys and lungs.
After the first 10 minutes of reaction we collect a small amount of the suspension with a tube
and a syringe to check the pH of our solution. PH is constant during the whole reaction.

We transfer it to a beaker and we separate the photocatalyst from the phenol solution with a
small syringe with a filter making sure that no catalyst is collected. Then the collected solution
is transferred to a small container which then will be used for titration:

After all of this, we take small drops of the samplers and put into the spectrophotometer.
 2. Measurements results.

Phenol concentration [mg/L] Absorbance

10 0.067
20 0.762
30 1.122
40 1.708
50 2.20

Time [min] Absorbance

0 1.751
10 1.741
20 1.310
30 1.139
40 1.075
2.1 Results of measurements

3. Determination of the calibration curve of phenol solution (graph, necessary

calculations.)

Calibration curve of phenol concentration

2.5

2 f(x) = 0.05 x − 0.19

R² = 0.98

1.5
Absorbance

0.5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Concentration [mg/L]
 4. Determination of phenol degradation kinetics

With the last graph we obtained the regression equation, where y means absorbance and x the
concentration of phenol. We can calculate the real concentration of phenol during the
spectrophotometer:

y +0,1866
x= =¿
0,0465
Time [min] Concentration [mg/L] Absorbance
0 50 1.751
10 41,4537 1.741
20 32,185 1.310
30 28,508 1.139
40 27,1311 1.075

Degradation of phenol
60

50
Concentration [mg/L]

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time [min]

Discarding the accumulation, the mass balance of the whole experiment is F1=F2+D.

Where F1- input mass, ΔF- accumulated mass, F2- output mass, D – discomposed mass.

50 – 27,1311 = 22,8689 mg/L