Study of adsorption of phenol on titanium oxide (TiO2) Original Research Article

The application of photocatalysis in the treatment of organic micropollutants in wastewater is an interesting alternative and is the object of a great interest over the last years by many researchers. The stage of adsorption of the micropollutant on the photocatalyst, mainly the titanium oxide anatase form, is a determining stage in the process of photodegradation. We present an experimental study of the adsorption of phenol, chosen as the model pollutant, on a photocatalyst, titanium oxide anatase (Degussa P25). The measure of the quantity of phenol adsorbed was made by UV spectroscopy. The equilibrium of adsorption was reached after 1 h; the kinetics of adsorption were slow and obeyed the Lagergrein model. The adsorption was chimisorption in a monolayer and obeyed the Langmuir model. The survey also showed that there was an advantage to operate at great velocity of agitation and a natural pH. The agitation by ultrasonic drives to a light increase of phenol quantity adsorbed (5%) because this mode of agitation reduces the phenomenon of agglomeration of titanium oxide particles and therefore increases the interfacial area of the catalyst.