Kinetic modeling of removal of aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum wastewaters by UiO-66-NH2/TiO2/ZnO nanocomposite

In this study, the UiO66-NH2/TiO2/ZnO (UTZ) nanocomposite was synthesized using the sol-gel method. The mean particle size of UTZ nanocomposite was about 33.63 nm. The present work investigates the applicability of a photocatalytic oxidation process for benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) degradation. The response surface modeling (RSM) was utilized to optimize important parameters, i.e. catalyst content (g/L), lamp power (W), initial contaminant concentrations and pH. The optimized values of these parameters involved UTZ concentration of 0.11 g/L, lamp power of 15 W, the initial pollutant concentration of 50 ppm and pH= 7. The BTX degradation and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies were 90.03% and 85.16%, respectively, under optimal conditions. Ultimately, a new kinetic reaction rate model was developed in the form of LangmuirHinshelwood equation based on the intrinsic-element reactions in the form of r = 0.102 I-0.5 [UTZ](0.5) [BTX]/1 + 1.9298 [BTX](0) + 1.6059 I-0.5 [UTZ](0.5). The first-order kinetic constant determined by this model was 0.133 min(-1). It was observed that the model for the photocatalysis reaction rate was well fitted with the experimental data at minimal mean absolute relative residual (14.18%).

Automated summary

In this study, a nanocomposite material UTZ was synthesized using the sol-gel method and optimized for the photocatalytic degradation of BTX. Under the optimal conditions, BTX degradation and TOC removal efficiencies reached 90.03% and 85.16% respectively. A new kinetic reaction rate model was developed based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation, showing a good fit with experimental data with a minimal mean absolute relative residual of 14.18%.