Photocatalytic degradation of wastewater from manufactured fiber by titanium dioxide suspensions in aqueous solution: a feasibility study

This investigation used wastewater from manufactured fiber plant for studying the effect of controlling variables on the COD removal efficiency by photocatalyzed degradation of organic pollutants in the presence of titanium dioxide catalyst. By using BOD/COD ratio as index, the treatment of raw wastewater was evaluated for its change of biodegradability as a feasibility in the pre-treatment of biological treatment. The experimental results indicated that with the Janssen Chemica TiO₂ as catalyst, the optimal addition was 0.25 g/L with increasing COD removal for decreasing pH value. Both increased light intensity and continuous aeration increased COD removal efficiency, particularly under continuous aeration for significantly raising the ratio of BOD/COD to improve efficiency of subsequent biological treatment.