Removal of Edta from Photovoltaic Industry Wastewater by Ag-tio2 Photocatalyst

Abstract

The presence of EDTA in wastewaters originating from photovoltaic (PV) process may cause significant environmental impacts. The aim of this work was the treatment of the effluents, resulting from the baths of the PV process, by a photocatalytic process based on TiO2 silver doped (Ag-TiO2) and using synthetic solutions containing EDTA.The influence of the various parameters such as the quality and quantity of the photocatalyst, initial concentration of the pollutant, the initial pH was studied. XRD characterizations were also done. Results mainly showed that with doping TiO2 with Ag, it possible to obtain higher yields in the photocatalytic degradation of EDTA than in absence of dopant. The optimal Ag-TiO2 catalyst dose was found to be 1.5 g/L, whereas, the optimal initial pH value was found to be 2.5. Keywords : Photovoltaic wastewater, EDTA, Doped Ag-TiO2 photocat