Capacities and efficiencies of electrospun titania nanofibers in removing organic dyes and pesticides from contaminated water

Abstract

The release of organic dyes and pesticides into water bodies by paint factories and flower farms results in the degradation of both water quality and aquatic life. A complete water treatment system may consist of the application of a number of physical, chemical and biological processes to the waste water. These current water treatments are ineffective in completely removing pollutants; they are not accessible to rural majority facing the challenge of access to clean drinking water, beyond reach to most consumers and cannot be recycled. This work describes the use of nanotechnology in water treatment and environmental remediation. We exploit the use of titaniananofibers as the remediation agent because of its high reduction and oxidation potentials. The high redox potentials can reduce or oxidize any organic and pesticides present in polluted water under sunlight irradiation. The titaniananofibers will be prepared by electro spinning process of titania precursors dissolved in a suitable polymer followed by calcinations. Titanium dioxide fibers will be characterized for morphology and structure by Scanning Electron Microscopy and aspect ratio by Branuer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis. UV-visible spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography is used to monitor the rate of photodegradation and their products respectively. The developed technique can be used in rural areas and small scale industries to treat water before releasing it to the environment.