Enhanced degradation of diclofenac via H2O2-assisted photocatalysis in a submerged membrane reactor using N-doped TiO2

Abstract

This study presents an in-depth investigation of hydrogen peroxide (H _2 O _2 )-assisted photocatalytic degradation of diclofenac (DCF) using N-doped TiO _2 (N-TiO _2 ) in a submerged membrane photocatalytic reactor (SMPR) under visible light. The technical achievements of this work include optimizing critical parameters such as solution pH, catalyst concentration, DCF concentration, and H _2 O _2 concentration to maximize degradation efficiency. The results indicate that the optimal conditions for DCF removal were achieved at pH 6.5, [N-TiO _2 ] of 1.0 g l ^−1 , DCF concentration of 20 mg l ^−1 , and H _2 O _2 concentration of 21.75 mg l ^−1 . Under these conditions, DCF removal efficiency significantly improved from 42.21% in the absence of H _2 O _2 to 79.55% with the addition of H _2 O _2 . This demonstrates the crucial role of H _2 O _2 in enhancing photocatalytic degradation performance. Comparative analysis with other studies using UV light further emphasizes the efficacy of this visible light-driven process, which achieved competitive removal rates, demonstrating the potential of visible light and N-TiO _2 as a sustainable solution for DCF degradation in wastewater. This research provides valuable insights into optimizing conditions for DCF degradation using N-TiO _2 under visible light, offering potential applications for this photocatalytic process.

Keywords

• diclofenac
• photocatalysis
• N-doped TiO2
• visible light
• advanced oxidation processes