Application of soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) as photocatalysts for wastewater treatment: Sensitizing effect and photo-Fenton-like process

Soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) isolated from urban biorefuses have been investigated in photocatalytic processes for wastewater treatment using a cationic dye, namely crystal violet (CV) as target compound. The SBO have been found to enhance the photobleaching of CV solutions with an optimal SBO concentration of ca. 20 mg L−1. Mechanistic investigation based on chemical probes and changes in the absorption spectrum of CV in the presence of SBO seems to indicate that a complex formed between sensitizer and substrate plays a major role in the process. SBO have also been tested for the implementation of photo-Fenton processes at circumneutral media: the observed pseudo first order rate constants for CV decoloration was higher for UV/SBO/Fe(II)/H2O2 (5.5 × 10−3 min−1) than for UV/Fe(II)/H2O2 (1.5 × 10−3 min−1). A modified mechanism, in which HO are less relevant that at the acidic medium, is in agreement with results of experiments carried out with chemical probes.

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► The use of SBO isolated from urban wastes for water treatment has been explored.
► SBO are able to catalyze photobleaching of crystal violet.
► A CV–SBO complex might play a major role in the process.
► SBO favored neutral photo-Fenton processes.