Capacities and efficiencies of electrospun titania nanofibers in removing organic dyes and pesticides from contaminated water
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Date
2014-07-28
Authors
Chepngetich, Josphine
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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.