Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64

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Process Safety and Environmental Protection

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psep

Decolorization and degradation of acid dye with

immobilized titania nanoparticles

Mohammad Vaez a , Abdolsamad Zarringhalam Moghaddam a,∗ , Niyaz Mohammad

Mahmoodi b , Somayeh Alijani a
a Department of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
b Department of Environmental Research, Institute for Color Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

a b s t r a c t

This paper addresses the decolorization and degradation of acid dye by a heterogeneous photocatalytic process using
immobilized nano-sized TiO2 particles as the photocatalyst. Sackcloth fiber was used as a support to immobilize the
nano-sized TiO2 photocatalyst. The structural properties of the immobilized photocatalyst were characterized by
XRD, SEM and EDX. UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy and the measurement of the chemical oxygen demand (COD)
were also used for the process performance studies. The XRD results did not show significant changes in the structure
of P25 as a consequence of the immobilization procedure. The formation of titania crystallites in the sackcloth fiber
was confirmed by SEM/EDX. The photocatalytic activities of TiO2 -coated sackcloth fiber catalyst were evaluated
using Acid Black 26 as a model organic contaminant and using UV-A radiation. Experimental results showed that
after 60 min, the degradation of Acid Black 26 with the immobilized TiO2 particles was higher than that with plain
TiO2 . Based on the COD results, after 3 h, the TiO2 -coated sackcloth fiber effectively decomposed all of the organic
compounds present in dye solution under the studied experimental conditions. The effects of the oxidant H2 O2 ,
initial dye concentration and pH on the photocatalytic degradation were also investigated. The presence of CO3 2− as
a dissolved inorganic anion had the highest inhibitory effect on the decolorization of the dye, when compared with
the other anions investigated. Kinetics analysis indicates that the photocatalytic decolorization rate of Acid Black 26
can be described by a pseudo-first-order model.
© 2011 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Wastewater treatment; Titania nanoparticles; Immobilization; Sackcloth fiber

1. Introduction Photocatalysis is an effective removal operation for water

Colored wastewater from textile industries, when discharged
into natural streams and rivers, endangers aquatic life due
to the toxicity of some dyes (Mahmoodi et al., 2005, 2006a,b).
Thus, there is an urgent need to develop effective methods to
treat textile wastewater.
Currently available methods for the removal of dye pollu-
tants, such as adsorption or coagulation, merely concentrate
the pollutants and convert them to other phases, but they still
remain and are not completely destroyed. Other conventional
water treatment methods, such as sedimentation, filtration,
chemical treatments and membrane technologies, have high
operating costs and could release toxic secondary pollutants
into the ecosystem (Chong et al., 2010).
purification due to its several advantages. It can be performed
under ambient conditions and may lead to the complete min-
eralization of organic compounds into CO2 and water. Among
the various types of photocatalyst, TiO2 is the most commonly
applied semiconductor photocatalyst for destroying organic
dye pollutants. This choice is mainly due to the availability, low
cost, chemical stability and non-toxicity of TiO2 (Zhua et al.,
2009).
Investigations in the field of photocatalysis are frequently
carried out in slurry systems. However, in large-scale applica-
tions, these systems require separation and recycling of the
nanocrystalline catalyst from the treated wastewater prior to
the discharge, which can be a time-consuming and costly
process. In addition, the depth of penetration of UV light

∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 21 82883337; fax: +98 21 82883531.
E-mail addresses: m.vaez@modares.ac.ir (M. Vaez), Zarrin@modares.ac.ir (A.Z. Moghaddam).
Received 16 December 2010; Received in revised form 16 July 2011; Accepted 19 July 2011
0957-5820/$ – see front matter © 2011 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.psep.2011.07.005
 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64
NaO3S OH
N N N N N
H
SO3Na
Fig. 1 – The chemical structure of dye Acid Black 26.
is limited due to strong absorptions by both catalyst parti-
cles and dissolved pollutants (Ray and Beenackers, 1998). As
a result, immobilization of the photocatalyst over an appro-
priate support is advantageous. Various materials, e.g., glass,
silica, quartz, activated carbon, mesoporous clays, and poly-
meric materials, have already been utilized as TiO2 supports
(Shan et al., 2010). Most of the substrate materials used are
granule-shaped, which may negatively affect the performance
of photocatalysis because most of the TiO2 loaded onto the
support is not photon accessible (Zhang et al., 2010). There is
no investigation reported in literature based on using sack-
cloth fiber as a support. Sackcloth fiber is usually used as a
waterproof sealing material for building construction, so it has
the necessary mechanical stability and durability for applica-
tions in water treatment. Moreover, it is much-preferred with
respect to handling when compared to granular supports. In
this research, we attempted to immobilize TiO2 nanoparti-
cles on sackcloth fiber and use it for degradation of aqueous
solutions of Acid Black 26. Acid Black 26 is a good model com-
pound that is widely used in the textile, leather and printing
industries, and so far, several literature sources have used it
as a model compound (Hunger, 2003). In addition, parameters
including H2 O2 concentration, pH, dye concentration and dis-
solved inorganic anions (Cl− , SO4 2− , HCO3 − and CO3 2− ) were
also investigated.
2. Experimental
2.1. Reagents
Acid Black 26 (C32 H21 N5 Na2 O7 S2 , Mw = 697 g/mol) was
obtained from Ciba Company and applied as a model
acid dye. The chemical structure of the acid dye is shown in
Fig. 1. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (AEROXIDE TiO2 P25)
were purchased from Evonik, and its main physical data are
as follows: the average primary particle size is approximately
21 nm, the purity is above 97% and the ratio of anatase-to-
rutile is 80-to-20. All other chemicals were analar grade and
supplied by Merck Company.
2.2. Immobilization of titania nanoparticles on
sackcloth fiber
Five grams of titania nanoparticles was dissolved in 180 mL of
ethanol to form the base medium of the slurry. Vigorous stir-
ring conditions ensured that the titania powder was properly
dispersed. As soon as the titania powder was added, it dis-
persed easily within the ethanol and produced a slurry. This
was followed by adding dilute nitric acid to adjust the pH to
3.5, which is necessary for better dispersion of titania pow-
der. Then, the suspension was stirred in an ultrasonic bath
for 10 min.
Pieces of sackcloth fiber of size 250 mm × 250 mm × 3 mm
were used as a support for TiO2 . The weight of the support
57
was about 380 g/m2 , and the main component of sackcloth is
cellulose.
The surface of the sackcloth fiber was first treated with
acetone and distilled water to remove organic and inor-
ganic materials attached to, or adsorbed on, the surface and
was dried under atmospheric conditions. The sackcloth fiber
was immersed in the titania suspension for 60 min. The
TiO2 -coated sample was dried in ambient for 24 h and then
calcinated at 180 ◦ C for 1 h with a heating and cooling rate
of 4 ◦ C/min. Calcination allows the titania nanoparticles to
adhere more strongly to the support. Afterwards, the coated
sackcloth fiber was washed in deionized water to remove the
unattached TiO2 particles from the fiber surface.
2.3. Characterization
Various techniques are used to characterize manufactured
nanoparticles in the environmental context (Domingos et al.,
2009; Liu et al., 2011). The crystal structures of the fresh
sackcloth fiber and immobilized TiO2 on sackcloth fiber were
studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. A PHILIPS
PW1800 analyzer with a Cu Ka X-ray source was used.
The rutile content in the immobilized and plain titania
nanoparticles can be calculated based on the intensities of
the peaks for anatase and rutile in the XRD patterns (Hosseini
et al., 2007):
(IR /IA )0.79
XR = ,
1 + (IR /IA )0.79
where XR is the weight fraction of the rutile phase in the immo-
bilized and plain titania nanoparticles, and IA and IR are the
integrated X-ray intensities of the (1 0 1) reflection of anatase at
2 = 25.4◦ and the (1 1 0) reflection of rutile at 2 = 27.5◦ , respec-
tively.
The main grain size (L) can also be calculated from XRD
data by applying the Scherrer’s formula (Hosseini et al., 2007;
Zhu et al., 2009):
0.89
L= ,
ˇ cos 
where  is the X-ray wavelength, ˇ is the full width at the half-
maximum of the diffraction peak and  is the diffraction angle.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used (after AU
coating by a sputtering method using a BAL-TEC SCDOOS
sputter coater) in combination with energy dispersive X-ray
analysis on an EDAX Philips XL-30 instrument.
2.4. Photocatalytic activity measurement
The photocatalytic activities of the titanium dioxide-coated
sackcloth fibers were assessed by degradation experiments
using Acid Black 26 as the model compound. Experiments
were carried out in a batch-mode immersion rectangular reac-
tor made of Pyrex glass, and four UV-A lamps (9 W, Philips)
were used as the irradiation source. The UV irradiation inten-
sity of lamps was measured by a UV radiometer (UVA 365
Lutron). The UV irradiation intensity was about 1.8 mW/cm2 .
Two air pumps were utilized for the mixing and aeration of
the dye solution at a 1 L/min flow rate. The lamps were placed
parallel to each other in the container. A fan was placed at
the box in order to eliminate the heating effect of the lamps.
The total volume of reactor was 1 L. Photocatalytic degradation
processes were performed at 298 K with 700 mL of solution and
an initial Acid Black 26 concentration of 0.071 mM. The pH of
58 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64

can be attributed to the fiber. By inspection of Table 1, it is seen

Table 1 – Results of the structural analysis of the
catalysts samples calculated from XRD data.
Sample Anatase Crystallite size
content (%) (nm)
P-25 plain powder 88.54 29
Coating on sackcloth fiber 85.3 32
the solution was adjusted by HNO3 or NaOH. Samples were
taken from the sample point at certain time intervals. The
samples were analyzed for residual dye concentration using
a UV–vis Varian Carry 50conc spectrophotometer. The maxi-
mum wavelength (max ) of Acid Black 26 is 550 nm. Pure TiO2
powder (0.2 g/L) was also tested to provide a reference with
which to compare the photocatalytic activity of immobilized
TiO2 .
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Characterization of immobilized photocatalyst
The XRD patterns of pure TiO2 and immobilized titania
nanoparticles on sackcloth fiber are shown in Fig. 2. Fur-
thermore, the results of the calculations of the structural
parameters, as described in Section 2.3, have been summa-
rized in Table 1. The results show that some of the material
present in the sample coated on the fiber is amorphous, which
that the titania nanoparticles have not changed significantly
due to the immobilization process. It was also found that the
anatase-to-rutile ratio was preserved as well, and the observed
differences in results are because of the disturbance of the
XRD test by the presence of the sackcloth fiber. In general, it is
concluded from the XRD analysis that no sensible change in
the structure of the titania nanoparticles has occurred due to
the immobilization; therefore, good photocatalytic efficiency
must be expected from the catalyst samples used.
SEM photographs of bare sackcloth fiber and immobilized
titania nanoparticles on sackcloth fiber at two different mag-
nifications are shown in Fig. 4. The SEM images of the bare
sackcloth fiber presented in Fig. 4(c) and (d) show rod-like par-
ticles with a smooth surface. Although the TiO2 coating has
been deposited on the fibers at such a large scale, based on
Fig. 4(c) and (e), the TiO2 -coated fiber system still retains the
same structure of bare sackcloth fibers. This structure reten-
tion will allow UV light to penetrate into the photocatalyst
to an appreciable depth. Using a fibrous material to sup-
port TiO2 can improve the photon-available catalytic surface
because most of the immobilized TiO2 is available for pho-
ton absorption (Zhang et al., 2010). Fig. 4 also shows that the
morphology of immobilized titanium dioxide has not changed
significantly with respect to the plain TiO2 particles (Fig. 4(a),
(b), (g), and (h)). This result is in agreement with the XRD data
and confirms that the immobilization process did not bring

Fig. 2 – XRD patterns of AEROXIDE TiO2 P25 (a); XRD patterns of titania nanoparticles immobilized on sackcloth fiber (b).
 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64
Fig. 3 – EDX analysis results: bare sackcloth fiber (a); immobilized titania nanoparticles on sackcloth fiber (b).
about remarkable changes to the TiO2 /P25 material used in the
coating.
SEM, coupled with an EDX microprobe, yielded a semi-
quantitative Ti analysis. The analysis shows that no titania
was present on the sackcloth fiber before immobilization
because the only peak seen was an Au peak related to sputter-
ing method (Fig. 3(a)) at about 2 keV. After the immobilization
process, a Ti peak can be seen, which shows that only titania
nanoparticles are on the sackcloth fiber. The EDX spectrum
(Fig. 3(b)) shows a peak for titanium at about 4.5 keV. This peak
indicates that the nanoparticles shown in the SEM image in
Fig. 4 are immobilized titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the
sackcloth fiber.
3.2. Decolorization of Acid Black 26
To evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the immobilized
TiO2 nanoparticles on sackcloth fiber, four degradation pro-
cesses were compared for Acid Black 26 (dye: 0.071 mM, H2 O2 :
0.023 mM): bare sackcloth fiber with UV irradiation (a), immo-
bilized TiO2 without UV irradiation (b), pure TiO2 slurry with
UV irradiation (c) and immobilized TiO2 with UV irradiation
(d). The decolorization rate constants of Acid Black 26 are
also shown in Fig. 5. We regarded the decolorization of Acid
Black 26 as a pseudo-first-order decolorization reaction. This
assumption is discussed later in Section 3.4.
Experimental results show that the adsorption of Acid
Black 26 on bare sackcloth fiber becomes saturated after
60 min under UV light irradiation, after which the concen-
tration of dye does not decrease further with prolonged UV
59
irradiation. This indicates that bare sackcloth fiber does not
possess photocatalytic activity (curve (a) in Fig. 5), and the
degradation of dye in the 60 min period can be attributed
UV-H2 O2 degradation. Similarly, TiO2 -coated sackcloth fiber
shows little catalytic activity without UV irradiation, and the
saturated adsorption capacity is higher than that of bare sack-
cloth fiber (curve (b) in Fig. 5). This results from the affinity
of the sackcloth fiber for acid dye after deposition of TiO2
nanoparticles. Through comparison of the amounts of acid
dye removed with (curves (c) and (d) in Fig. 5) and without UV
irradiation (curve (b) in Fig. 5), it can be confirmed that the
disappearance of Acid Black 26 is due to photocatalytic degra-
dation instead of adsorption alone. Based on data from Fig. 5(c)
and (d) and the corresponding decolorization rate constants,
the percentage degradation of dye with the immobilized TiO2
particles is higher than that of TiO2 . It can be attributed to
the improvement of UV light penetration in the immobilized
system. There are two possible reasons for the increased light
penetration: (1) a smaller fluid-layer thickness on the surface
of the immobilized TiO2 , and/or (2) a decrease of the light
penetration depth due to scattering of the UV light by TiO2
particles in the slurry system (Damodar et al., 2007; Damodar
and Swaminathan, 2008; Parra et al., 2004).
3.3. H2 O2 effect
Fig. 6 shows the unconverted fraction of Acid Black 26 (C/C0 )
as a function of irradiation time for the various H2 O2 concen-
trations (dye: 0.071 mM, pH: 6.2). The unconverted fraction is
shown to vary exponentially with time at each concentration
60 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64

Fig. 4 – SEM images of TiO2 powder at small (a),and large magnification (b), bare sackcloth fiber at small(c), and large
maginification(d), sackcloth after immobilized TiO2 at small (e), large magnification(f), nanoparticles titania immobilized on
sackcloth at small (g), and large magnification (h).

of H2 O2 . This variation demonstrates that the hypothesis of
first-order kinetics relative to the dye is viable.
In photocatalytic reactions, it has been found that the
hydrogen peroxide concentration is a key parameter with
respect to dye decomposition, depending on its concentra-
tion and the nature of reductants (So et al., 2002). Hydrogen
peroxide can increase the formation rate of hydroxyl radicals
in two ways. First, the reduction of H2 O2 at the conduction
band would produce hydroxyl radicals. Second, the self-
decomposition by illumination would also produce hydroxyl
 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64
Fig. 5 – Effect of photocatalyst on the degradation rate of
Acid Black 26 for (a) bare sackcloth fiber with UV
irradiation, (b) immobilized TiO2 without UV irradiation, (c)
pure TiO2 slurry with UV irradiation, (d) immobilized TiO2
with UV irradiation, with initial condition being Acid Black
26 concentration = 0.071 mM, pH: 6.2 and concentration
H2 O2 = 0.023 mM.
radicals (Vinodgopal et al., 1994; Malato et al., 1998). Gener-
ally, the degradation rate of the dye increases as the H2 O2
concentration increases, until an optimal H2 O2 concentra-
tion is achieved. At higher concentrations, H2 O2 can also act
as a scavenger of valence band holes and hydroxyl radicals
(Konstantinou and Albanis, 2004; Malato et al., 1998; So et al.,
2002). As seen in Fig. 6, the decolorization rate increased
when H2 O2 concentration changed from 0 to optimal con-
centration (0.023 mM). There were no appreciable changes
in decolorization rate when the concentration of H2 O2 was
increased further.
Fig. 6 – Photocatalytic decolorization of Acid Black 26 with
different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide for different
periods of irradiation (dye: 0.071 mM, pH: 6.2, without
anion, C0 : initial dye concentration and C: dye
concentration at time t).
61
Fig. 7 – The effect of dye concentration on the
photocatalytic decolorization rate constants for Acid Black
26 (H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH: 6.2, without anion, C0 : initial dye
concentration and C: dye concentration at time t).
3.4. Initial dye concentration effect
To study the effect of dye concentration on the rate of decol-
orization, the Acid Black 26 concentration was varied between
0.035 mM and 0.143 mM, whereas the other variables were kept
constant (H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH: 6.2). The degradation of Acid
Black 26 at different initial concentrations is shown in Fig. 7.
The kinetics of acid dye degradation was investigated using
data from Fig. 7. The coefficients of the first-order kinetic
model are also shown in Fig. 7. The results show that the
squared correlation coefficient (R2 ) is larger than 0.98 for all
conditions and that the photocatalytic degradation of Acid
Black 26 can be reasonably described by first-order kinetics.
However, the apparent decolorization rate constant depends
on the initial concentration of Acid Black 26. As expected,
the decolorization rate constant (k) decreases when the dye
concentration increases. The decomposition of dye molecules
by hydroxyl attack forms one or more intermediates, accord-
ing to the complexity of the initial reactants (Damodar and
Swaminathan, 2008). These intermediates will also compete
with the parental dye molecule for active sites and absorp-
tion of photons. With an increase in the dye concentration,
both the concentration of intermediates and the absorption of
photons by dye and intermediate molecules increases, result-
ing in less energy available for hydroxyl generation (Damodar
and Swaminathan, 2008).
3.5. Anion effect
The existence of dissolved inorganic ions is common in dye-
containing industrial wastewater. To functionalize a TiO2
water treatment process, a basic understanding of the effect
of inorganic ions on the photocatalytic performance is essen-
tial (Chong et al., 2010). These substances may compete for
the active sites on the TiO2 surface or deactivate the pho-
tocatalyst, causing a decrease in the degradation rate of the
target dyes (Konstantinou and Albanis, 2004). A major draw-
back resulting from the high reactivity and non-selectivity of
OH• is that it also reacts with non-target compounds present
in the background water matrix. This means that either higher
OH• concentrations are necessary to accomplish the desired
degree of degradation, or the advanced oxidation rate and
62 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64
Fig. 8 – The effect of anions on the photocatalytic
decolorization rate constants for Acid Black 26 (dye:
0.071 mM, H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH: 6.2, anion: 1.5 mM, C0 :
initial dye concentration and C: dye concentration at time t).
efficiency will be completely inhibited (Arslan-Alaton, 2003).
A number of studies have been conducted on the effects of
different inorganic ions on TiO2 photomineralization reac-
tions (Chen et al., 1997; Guillard et al., 2003; Habibi et al.,
2005; Mahmoodi et al., 2006a; Özkan et al., 2004; Riga et al.,
2007; Rincón and Pulgarin, 2004; Wang et al., 2004; Wong
and Chu, 2003). To investigate the effect of dissolved inor-
ganic anions on the photocatalytic decolorization rate of Acid
Black 26, NaCl, Na2 SO4 , NaHCO3 and K2 CO3 salts were studied.
The salt concentrations in the solutions were set at 1.5 mM
(dye: 0.071 mM, H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH: 6.2). Fig. 8 shows the
effect of anions on the photocatalytic degradation rate of Acid
Black 26. The observed detrimental effect on the photocat-
alytic decolorization of Acid Black 26 obeys the following order:
SO4 2− < Cl− < HCO3− < CO3 2− .
The inhibition effects of anions can be explained by the
reaction of positive holes and hydroxyl radicals with anions.
The anions behave as hVB + and OH• scavengers and slow the
dye degradation process (Arslan-Alaton, 2003; Konstantinou
and Albanis, 2004)
3.6. pH effect
Because dyes can be degraded at different pH values in col-
ored effluents, comparative experiments were performed at
three pH values: one acidic, one basic and one at the natural
pH (6.2). The experiments in this report were carried out in a
pH range of 3.5–10.5. The results of blank studies indicate that
the initial pH of the dye solutions has a negligible effect on
the chemistry of Acid Black 26 dye. The changes in the maxi-
mum absorbance wavelength of Acid Black 26 at different pH
values are negligible, so this effect can be ignored. Also, the
solution pH is an important to the reactions taking place on
the semiconductor particle surface because it influences the
surface charge properties of the photocatalyst. The point of
zero charge (pzc) of titania is approximately 6.8 (Zhang et al.,
1998). The TiO2 surface is positively charged in acidic media
(pH < 6.8); therefore, an electrostatic attraction exists between
the positively charged surface of TiO2 and anionic dyes. As the
pH of the solution increases, the number of negatively charged
sites increases. Fig. 9 shows the effect of pH on the photocat-
Fig. 9 – The effect of pH on the photocatalytic decolorization
rate constants for Acid Black 26 (dye: 0.071 mM, H2 O2 :
0.023 mM, C0 : initial dye concentration and C: dye
concentration at time t).
alytic decolorization of Acid Black 26. The negatively charged
surface sites on TiO2 do not favor the adsorption of dye anions
due to electrostatic repulsion. Furthermore, lower adsorption
of Acid Black 26 at alkaline pH values is due to the pres-
ence of excess OH− ions competing with the dye anions for
the adsorption sites. However, the interpretation of pH effects
on the efficiency of the photocatalytic system is a difficult
task because of the possibility of different reaction mecha-
nisms, such as hydroxyl radical attack, direct oxidation by
positive holes and direct reduction by electrons in the con-
ducting band. The importance of each mechanism depends on
the nature of the substrate and the pH (Neppolian et al., 2002;
Tang and Huren, 1995). HNO3 and NaOH were used to adjust
the pH of the dye solutions. The parameters k (rate constant)
and R2 (correlation coefficient) of the decolorization process
are also shown in Fig. 9. As shown in this figure, the order of
the rate constants for the degradation process is as follows: pH
acidic > pH natural > pH alkaline. In this study, acidic pH values
are found to be optimal under the chosen experimental condi-
tions (dye: 0.071 mM, H2 O2 : 0.023 mM). A similar trend (optimal
pH values of 5.4–7) was observed for the decolorization of other
dyes (Stylidi et al., 2004).
3.7. Degradation of Acid Black 26
During the photocatalytic degradation of Acid Black 26, var-
ious organic intermediates were produced. Consequently,
degradation of the dye should be evaluated as an overall pro-
cess, involving the degradation of both the parent dye and its
intermediates. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) gives a
measure of degradation of the dye and generated intermedi-
ates during the irradiation period. It also provides a measure of
the oxygen equivalent of the organic content in a sample that
is affected by a strong oxidant. The changes in COD removal
for the Acid Black 26 solution (0.071 mM, pH: 6.2) using H2 O2
(0.023 mM) in the immobilized TiO2 photoreactor are shown in
Fig. 10. This figure shows that a 94% reduction in the COD of
the sample was achieved after 3 h of irradiation. This indicates
the ability of immobilized TiO2 to initiate the decomposition
of all the organic compounds present in dye solution.
 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 9 0 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 56–64
Fig. 10 – COD removal of the solution during photocatalytic
degradation of Acid Black 26 (dye: 0.071 mM, H2 O2 :
0.023 mM, pH: 6.2, COD0 : initial COD and COD: COD at time
t).
Fig. 11 – The cyclic photocatalytic performance of
nanoparticles titania immobilized on sackcloth for Acid
Black 26 degaradtion (dye: 0.035 mM, H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH:
6.2).
Moreover, the feasibility of cyclic use of TiO2 -coated sack-
cloth fiber after four cycles was investigated (dye: 0.035 mM,
H2 O2 : 0.023 mM, pH: 6.2). As Fig. 11 shown, the photocatalytic
activity remains at about 77% of its initial activity after the
four cycles.
4. Conclusions
The photocatalytic degradation of Acid Black 26 by nano-
sized TiO2 particles coated on sackcloth fiber was investigated.
Based on XRD analysis of the coatings, it was concluded that
no sensible change in the structure of P-25 occurred due to the
immobilization procedure. The SEM/EDX results revealed the
formation of a nano-scale TiO2 coating on the surfaces of the
fibers.
63
The conversion rate of Acid Black 26 on TiO2 -coated sack-
cloth fiber was found to be higher than in the slurry system.
The effects of H2 O2 , dye concentration and pH on the degra-
dation rate of the dye were also studied. The optimum values
of the oxidant H2 O2 and pH were found to be 0.023 mM and
6.2.
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