Solar-energy-enabled photocatalysis is a promising sustainable approach to destruct a broad range of contaminants via the attack of photogenerated reactive species in situ by utilizing renewable solar energy. However, photocatalytic reactor design, especially the immobilization of nano-sized photocatalyst, remains as a major barrier to preventing the industrial application of photocatalysis. In this study, we applied chitosan, an abundant natural polymer with water holding capacity, light penetrating ability as well as nontoxicity, to immobilize graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), an emerging photocatalyst with several advantages for practical applications, to form g-C3N4-contained chitosan beads (GC beads). The photocatalytic reactivity was then evaluated in a 3D printed compound parabolic collector (CPC) reactor under simulated sunlight (Xenon lamp, AM 1.5G) for the removal of a model contaminant (i.e., phenol) and emerging persistent micropollutants (i.e., atrazine, carbamazepine, and sulfamethoxazole) in buffer solution. The GC beads with optimized size and g-C3N4 loading showed a promising photocatalytic activity toward contaminants degradation. Meanwhile, the GC beads exhibited selective contaminants degradation that could be attributed to the different interactions between chitosan with contaminants. We will next apply the optimized GC beads in a larger scale CPC reactor for contaminant removal in a complex water matrix to address challenges for contaminant removal in real water. In summary, this study explores the practical application of g-C3N4 for water purification by solar energy, the utilization of natural material (chitosan) as a nanomaterial immobilizer and 3D printing as a manufacturing technique sheds light on achieving sustainable water treatment and reuse.

Chitosan beads packed photocatalytic reactor: Sustainable platform for water purification under solar light irradiation

2019 Spring National Meeting

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