Optimization of Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment Using Tiger Nut and TiO₂: A Comparative Study of Photocatalytic Degradation and Adsorption Efficiency
نویسندگان
1 Department of Chemistry, Olabisi Onabanjo, Ogun State, University
2 Department of Biochemistry, North Carolina A&T University, North Carolina, USA
3 Department of Chemical Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State, Nigeria
4 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Lagos, Nigeria
5 Department of Bioinformatics, School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, USA
6 Department of Chemical Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria
7 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Uyo, Nigeria
8 Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
9 Department of Environmental Management, Federal University of Technology, Nigeria
10 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
11 Department of Food Science and Technology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria
12 Department of Chemical Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria
13 Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Nigeria
14 Department of Environmental Engineering, University of mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana
15 Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
doi
10.48309/pcbr.2025.456435.1353چکیده
This study delves into the photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical wastewater, employing tiger nut and Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as catalysts. The study aims to optimize treatment processes in both photocatalytic reactors and through adsorption in light-absent conditions. A systematic experimental approach varied catalyst dosage (0.5 g/l to 3.0 g/l), pH (4 to 11), and contact time (30 to 100 minutes), with a consistent flow rate of 120 rpm and UV intensity set at 450W. Optimal conditions for photocatalytic degradation were found at 3.0 g/l catalyst dosage, pH 4-, and 100-minutes contact time, resulting in a 95.41% reduction in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). In contrast, adsorption peaked at 1.75 g/l catalyst dosage, pH 4.0, and 100 minutes contact time, slightly outperforming photocatalysis with a 95.50% COD reduction. The adsorption method demonstrated superior efficiency, confirmed by higher degradation rates. Kinetic analysis favoured the pseudo second-order kinetics model (R2 = 0.9908) for adsorption data, surpassing pseudo first-order and intra-particle diffusion models.
