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Title: Photocatalytic treatment of wastewater from 5-fluorouracil manufacturing

Journal Article · · Journal of Solar Energy Engineering
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2847912· OSTI ID:230810
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
  2. Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden)

This paper presents some of the experimental results from a study conducted to demonstrate the potential use of photocatalytic oxidation for decolorization and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of wastewater from 5-fluorouracil manufacturing. A series of batch experiments, were carried out using diluted solutions of the wastewater with 0.1% w/v TiO{sub 2}. Low pressure mercury lamps were used to simulate the UV part of sunlight. The experiments showed that a complete decolorization and a substantial reduction of COD was achieved within 20 hours with a 20% solution. During the reaction period, the ph was noted to decrease considerably, indicating formation of acids. Adding hydrogen peroxide to the solution was found to significantly increase the reaction rates. Adding 2,400 ppm of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} gave an 80% decrease in color in one hour and a 70--80% decrease in COD in 20 hours. The influence of UV-light intensity was also examined. This experiment showed that with a UV-intensity of 15 W/m2, i.e., a cloudy day, the decolorization rate was still considerable, while the COD reduction rate was very low.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
230810
Journal Information:
Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 118, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English