Industrial application of photocatalysts prepared by hydrothermal and sol–gel methods

•Almond shell activated carbon (ASAC) was used as catalyst support.•Hydrothermal and sol–gel methods were used for photocatalysts TiO2/ASAC preparation.•The characterization of TiO2/ASAC catalysts was performed by different techniques.•The prepared photocatalyst by hydrothermal has highest photocatalytic activity.

TiO2-containing almond shell activated carbons (TiO2/ASAC) with high photocatalytic activity were prepared using hydrothermal and sol–gel methods. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by different techniques. XRD study confirmed that TiO2 existed in a mixture of anatase and rutile phase. Nano-TiO2 particles were dispersed on the ASAC with the size of 18–24 nm. The specific surface area of the samples decreased from 1398 m2/g to 661 m2/g indicating that the pores of activated carbon are blocked by TiO2. The photocatalyst obtained from the hydrothermal process is better than the other samples one in a comparison of the anatase content, and was also confirmed by the photocatalytic degradation of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) from industrial phosphoric acid solution under UV irradiation.