In this work, innovative photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide and graphitic carbon nitride have been synthetized and tested in an innovative pilot photoreactor which is unique for several reasons, including its high volume (more than one liter), the ability to sustain pressure up to 20 bar and the irradiation system located inside the photoreactor (that allows a homogeneous and efficient distribution of the light). This setup allowed to achieve interesting results in the photoreduction of carbon dioxide in the liquid phase to small organic molecules (e.g. formic acid, methanol and formaldehyde), in particular, previously seen productivities have been obtained with exfoliated carbon nitride photocatalysts. Moreover, the same photoreactor was also used to perform the photo reforming of sugars and acid to hydrogen, which represent a benchmark for more complex mixtures derived from biomass treatment. On the other hand, the photocatalyst proved to be active even for other processes, such as the photo abatement of pollutants (e.g. NO3-, NO3-, NH3, dyes, pharmaceutics, etc.) from wastewaters, which most of the time led to a decreases of the toxicity of the solution according to in vitro toxicity tests performed after the process. Lastly, a small step toward the scale up of the photocatalytic processes was represented by the development of a robust and reliable procedure for the immobilization and functionalization of the photocatalytic materials over a solid support, (i.e. glass), which simplify the treatments and theoretically allows the recovery and reuse of photocatalysts.

PHOTOCATALYTIC PROCESSES FOR THE VALORIZATION OF WASTEAND RENEWABLE SUBSTRATES / F. Conte ; relatore: I. Rossetti ; collaboratore: G. Ramis ; revisore: A. Vargas, M. Goula. Dipartimento di Chimica, 2023 Mar 14. 35. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2022.

PHOTOCATALYTIC PROCESSES FOR THE VALORIZATION OF WASTEAND RENEWABLE SUBSTRATES

F. Conte
2023

Abstract

In this work, innovative photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide and graphitic carbon nitride have been synthetized and tested in an innovative pilot photoreactor which is unique for several reasons, including its high volume (more than one liter), the ability to sustain pressure up to 20 bar and the irradiation system located inside the photoreactor (that allows a homogeneous and efficient distribution of the light). This setup allowed to achieve interesting results in the photoreduction of carbon dioxide in the liquid phase to small organic molecules (e.g. formic acid, methanol and formaldehyde), in particular, previously seen productivities have been obtained with exfoliated carbon nitride photocatalysts. Moreover, the same photoreactor was also used to perform the photo reforming of sugars and acid to hydrogen, which represent a benchmark for more complex mixtures derived from biomass treatment. On the other hand, the photocatalyst proved to be active even for other processes, such as the photo abatement of pollutants (e.g. NO3-, NO3-, NH3, dyes, pharmaceutics, etc.) from wastewaters, which most of the time led to a decreases of the toxicity of the solution according to in vitro toxicity tests performed after the process. Lastly, a small step toward the scale up of the photocatalytic processes was represented by the development of a robust and reliable procedure for the immobilization and functionalization of the photocatalytic materials over a solid support, (i.e. glass), which simplify the treatments and theoretically allows the recovery and reuse of photocatalysts.
14-mar-2023
Settore CHIM/04 - Chimica Industriale
sustainability; green chemistry; CO2 photoreduction; carbohydrate photoreforming; wastewater treatment
ROSSETTI, ILENIA GIUSEPPINA
Doctoral Thesis
PHOTOCATALYTIC PROCESSES FOR THE VALORIZATION OF WASTEAND RENEWABLE SUBSTRATES / F. Conte ; relatore: I. Rossetti ; collaboratore: G. Ramis ; revisore: A. Vargas, M. Goula. Dipartimento di Chimica, 2023 Mar 14. 35. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2022.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/956740
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