Solar Photocatalysis of A Pesticide in A Tubular Reactor on Titaniferous Sand as A New Semi-Conductor

This present study comes in addition to overcome the problems of separation of fine particles of TiO2 in heterogeneous photocatalysis after treatment. It aims to show the potential for using titaniferous sand as a new semiconductor under solar irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency of this titaniferous sand was tested on a pesticide (Azadirachtin). A tubular photocatalytic reactor with recirculation of the polluting solution was designed for the elimination of the pesticide in an aqueous solution. Before its use as a photocatalyst, the titaniferous sand has undergone a specific treatment that consists of calcination at 600℃ followed by extraction of the calcined natural organic materials, which can interfere with the measurement of analytical parameters such as COD. The titaniferous sand was also characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). XRF analyses have shown that TiO2 is predominant in the titaniferous sand with a percentage that has been estimated at 46.34%. The influence of various experimental parameters such as the flow rate of the polluting solution, the concentration of titaniferous sand, the presence of oxygen and the intensity of the overall rate of sunshine, was studied to optimize the photocatalytic degradation of the pesticide. The results showed that the highest removal rate (70%) was observed under the following conditions: a pH of 6, a titaniferous sand concentration of 150 g/L, a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, and a sunshine rate of 354 W/m2 and in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Under these experimental conditions, the rate of photodegradation of the pesticide follows the pseudo first order kinetic model of Langmuir Hinshelwood with a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.9869 and an apparent rate constant of 0.0029 min-1. The results clearly demonstrated the potential of titaniferous sand as a photocatalyst sensitive to sunlight for the effective removal of pesticides in the aquatic environment.

Removal of Methyl Violet in Aqueous Solution on Activated Carbon Based on Saba senegalensis Shell Residues

Adsorption on activated carbon is one of the most widely used methods for the removal of dyes. The objective of this study is to valorize the shells of Saba senegalensis from local product in Senegal in the form of activated carbon and to test its effectiveness for the removal of methyl violet. The study was carried out in batch mode for a maximum duration of one hour with 100 mL of solution treated at 600 rpm. The results reveal that the granulometry 500 μm gives the best yield with an adsorption rate of 95%, a mass of adsorbent of 0.2 g gives an adsorption capacity of 20 mg/g, the contact time of one hour with a capacity of 5 mg/g. The study also showed that the adsorption process of methyl violet is described by the pseudo-second order kinetic model with correlation coefficient of 0.99. Two adsorption isotherms were studied, and the results revealed that the Freundlich model better describes the adsorption of methyl violet on Saba senegalensis shell residue-based activated carbon (SSSRAC). The results indicate that SSSRAC could be used as a low-cost alternative for the removal of textile dyes such as methyl violet.

Process for the Biological Removal of Fe (II) from Reconstituted Waters on a Support of Filter Material with Coated Jujube Seeds

Three beakers for removing Fe (II) in reconstituted water (doped with FeSO4) were built and tested. Given the set operating conditions ([O2] > 4 mg·L-1, Patm = 1.013 bar, T = 25°C ± 1°C and [Fe2+]0 = 0.5 to 2 mg·L-1), removal of iron was caused by biological and possibly physical and chemical oxidation because there is a quantity of free oxygen in the medium. The extent of each type of oxidation has not been evaluated as it specifically studies the biological degradation of iron in these beaker tests by setting the operating conditions (pH > 6.5, dissolved oxygen from 0 to 8 mg·L-1, Redox Potential from 100 to 400 mV). The experimental studies focused particularly on the measurements of maximum wavelength, conversion efficiencies from Fe (II) to Fe (III), the effect of the Fe (II) concentration, the influence of pH, the action of the temperature of the prepared solutions and the effect of O2 concentration under specified operating conditions. It noticed precipitated amounts of iron deposited at the bottom of the beakers. Thus, the low concentrations of Fe (II) detected in the influent after the biological oxidation operation could be attributed to microorganisms that consume iron as a substrate.

Isolation of Iron Bacteria from Washing Sludge Filters Kolda (Senegal) Water Treatment Station and Study of the Kinetics of Biological Degradation of the Iron (II)

In the present work, the treatment of synthetic waters doped with iron (II) has been studied. The treatment mechanism used in this study is the biological oxidation which consists, in test tubes, of bringing bacteria isolated on Petri dishes into contact with water containing divalent iron (II). These de-ironing bacteria (non-specific bacteria) are used to carry out laboratory biological oxidation experiments on iron (II) under different pH conditions (pH = 3.4 - 3.6, pH = 7.3 - 7.5 and pH = 9.8 - 10) and variable concentration of iron (II). Biological treatment trials included different concentrations of iron during time intervals of a day. Examination of the elimination kinetics of Iron (II) indicates a removal rate of 59.453% for an initial iron concentration in the synthetic solution of 1 mg·L−1 at basic pH (pH = 9.8 - 10). Therefore, the degradation of divalent iron by this method seems to be quite effective, but it should be noted that biological nitrification is impaired by the presence of high iron concentrations above 5 mg·L−1.