<br/>Cyanide is a common and potent aqueous toxin.  The mining and production of various metals, as well as the refining of petroleum are common sources of significant cyanide pollution.  The purpose of this study was to develop a photocatalytic reactor system amenable to home use for drinking water purification through photocatalysis.  In this study two reactors were built with two different reflector types: compound parabolic and semi-hemispherical.  Titania was supported within the reactor systems in two different ways as well.  In one reactor system, a porous poly(methylmethacrylate)/Titania film was coated on the interior wall of the absorbertubes, and in the other system type the composite titania film was included on the surface of a spiral-shaped acrylic strip down the center of each absorbertube.  Each experiment involved 40 L of 400 ppb aqueous cyanide.  A compound parabolic reflector with titania-coated spiral inserts at a pH of 12 was best able to destroy cyanide, reducing the cyanide concentration to below 15 ppb within 3 h.  This photocatalytic reactor system, while merely a working prototype of an actual reactor, would provide the average family with enough cyanide-free water for typical drinking and cooking needs.<br/>

Photocatalytic degradation of aqueous cyanide using compound parabolic reflector arrays

255th National Meeting (2018)

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