Enhanced nitrogen selectivity for nitrate reduction on Cu-nZVI by TiO2 photocatalysts under UV irradiation

The aims of this work were to study the effect of Cu-nZVI with and without TiO2 on nitrate reduction and to study the pathway of nitrate reduction utilizing to nitrogen gas. The chemical and physical properties of Cu-nZVI and Cu-nZVI/TiO2 such as specific surface area, crystalline phase, oxidation state of Cu and Fe and morphology were determined by N2 adsorption-desorption Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analytical technique, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) technique and Transmittance Electron Microscopy (TEM). The full factorial design (FFD) was used in this experiment for the effect of Cu-nZVI with and without TiO2, where the initial solution pH was varied at 4, 5.5, and 7 and initial nitrate concentration was varied at 50, 75, and 100 ppm. Finally, the pathway of nitrate reduction was examined to calculate the nitrogen gas selectivity. The specific area of Cu-nZVI and Cu-nZVI/TiO2 was found to be about 4 and 36 m2/g, respectively. The XRD pattern of Fe0 in Cu-nZVI was found at 45° (2θ), whereas Cu-nZVI/TiO2 cannot be observed. TEM images can confirm the position of the core and the shell of nZVI for Fe0 and ferric oxide. Cu-nZVI/TiO2 proved to have higher activity in nitrogen reduction performance than that without TiO2 and nitrate can be completely degraded in both of solution pH of 4 and 7 in 75 ppm of initial nitrate concentration. It can be highlighted that the nitrogen gas selectivity of Cu-nZVI/TiO2 greater than 82% was found at an initial solution pH of 4 and 7. The main effects of Cu-nZVI with and without TiO2 and the initial nitrate concentration on nitrate reduction were significant. The interaction between solution pH and initial nitrate concentration and the interaction of all effects at a reaction time of 15 min on nitrate reduction were also significant.