Degradation of Pesticide from Aqueous Solution Using Photocatalytic Composite

Due to an increase in pesticide usage in agriculture worldwide, there exists a need for the development of an effective pollutant removal process for pesticides in agricultural run-off water. It is advantageous for the treatment to not require the addition of treatment chemicals which could potentially have a harmful effect on the environment. A reactor utilizes a photocatalyst Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) with the exposure to UV-light for treatment of insecticide chlorpyrifos. The catalyst was characterized with XRD (X-ray Diffraction) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). The peaks appeared at 2 value indicates the formation of anatase phase of TiO2. At the higher calcination temperatures, the larger particle size with spherical morphology is obtained. Grain boundaries are observed in the SEM micrographs of the samples. Energy Dispersive X-ray shows the chemical constituents of Ti and O present in the samples. And there was no impurity peak is in the EDAX spectra. Photocatalytic degradation of Chlorpyrifos in aqueous phase in the presence of artificial UV-light by using photocatalyst TiO2 is observed. The degradation of insecticide (chlorpyrifos) was investigated in terms of reduction in COD. The effect of the catalyst in the dark was nearly 20 % i. e. , in the absence of UV light. Experiments was performed in the presence of UV light at optimize condition. The effect of catalyst loading and pH was determined. In this case the concentration of the catalyst was optimized at 4g/L and pH value at 6, where around 61 % degradation of the insecticide was observed.