Preparation and characterisation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and thiourea-doped titanate nanotubes prepared from wastewater flocculated sludge

In this study, titanium (Ti), ferric (Fe) and aluminum (Al) salt flocculants were compared for their efficiency in treating wastewater collected from Sydney Olympic Park wastewater treatment plant by following the jar test procedure. Produced sludge from Ti-salt flocculation was dried and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were generated after the incineration of sludge produced from the Ti-salt flocculation of wastewater. Later on, titanate nanotubes were synthesized after TiO2 nanoparticles were hydrothermally treated with 10 N NaOH solution at 130 °C for 24 h. Titanate nanotubes were either acid or deionised water-washed, while thiourea-doping was employed to produce visible light-responsive nanotubes. Wastewater flocculation using Ti-salt was found to be as efficient as Fe and Al flocculation in terms of turbidity and DOC removal. XRD results showed that the anatase structure was predominant for TiO2 nanoparticles, while thiourea-doped titanate nanotubes only indicated anatase structure with an increased crystallinity after being crystallized at 600 °C. The photocatalytic activity of all photocatalysts was evaluated using the photooxidation of acetaldehyde. Thiourea-doped nanotubes showed a greater photocatalytic activity than as-prepared TiO2 nanoparticles, deionised water-washed, acid-washed titanate nanotubes and P25 under UV and visible light irradiation.