Julián A. Rengifo-Herrera

Dramatic enhancement of solar disinfection (SODIS) of wild Salmonella sp. in PET bottles by H2O2 addition on natural water of Burkina Faso containing dissolved iron

Disinfection of surface water containing dissolved iron (0.3 mg L(-1)) at natural neutral pH ( approximately 7.5) was carried out via solar disinfection (SODIS) treatment in PET bottles with H(2)O(2) (10 mg L(-1)). Wild coliforms and Salmonella sp. were monitored for 6 h of sunlight irradiation and 72 h of dark post-treatment period. In our conditions, SODIS treatment could not avoid Salmonella sp. re-growth during dark storage, meanwhile the addition of 10 mg L(-1) of H(2)O(2) showed a strong enhancement of the inactivation rate without any re-growth of both bacteria. Finally, total coliforms (Escherichia coli included) demonstrated to be an inappropriate indicator for monitoring bacterial contamination in water during solar disinfection processes.

The detrimental influence of bacteria (E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella) on the degradation of organic compounds (and vice versa) in TiO2 photocatalysis and near-neutral photo-Fenton processes under simulated solar light

TiO2 photocatalytic and near-neutral photo-Fenton processes were tested under simulated solar light to degrade two models of natural organic matter - resorcinol (R) (which should interact strongly with TiO2 surfaces) and hydroquinone (H) - separately or in the presence of bacteria. Under similar oxidative conditions, inactivation of Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei and Salmonella typhimurium was carried out in the absence and in the presence of 10 mg L(-1) of R and H. The 100% abatement of R and H by using a TiO2 photocatalytic process in the absence of bacteria was observed in 90 min for R and in 120 min for H, while in the presence of microorganisms abatement was only of 55% and 35% for R and H, respectively. Photo-Fenton reagent at pH 5.0 completely removed R and H in 40 min, whereas in the presence of microorganisms their degradation was of 60% to 80%. On the other hand, 2 h of TiO2 photocatalytic process inactivated S. typhimurium and E. coli cells in three and six orders of magnitude, respectively, while S. sonnei was completely inactivated in 10 min. In the presence of R or H, the bacterial inactivation via TiO2 photocatalysis was significantly decreased. With photo-Fenton reagent at pH 5 all the microorganisms tested were completely inactivated in 40 min of simulated solar light irradiation in the absence of organics. When R and H were present, bacterial photo-Fenton inactivation was less affected. The obtained results suggest that in both TiO2 and iron photo-assisted processes, there is competition between organic substances and bacteria simultaneously present for generated reactive oxygen species (ROS). This competition is most important in heterogeneous systems, mainly when there are strong organic-TiO2 surface interactions, as in the resorcinol case, suggesting that bacteria-TiO2 interactions could play a key role in photocatalytic cell inactivation processes.

Low-frequency ultrasound induces oxygen vacancies formation and visible light absorption in TiO2 P-25 nanoparticles

Low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) irradiation induces morphological, optical and surface changes in the commercial nano-TiO(2)-based photocatalyst, Evonik-Degussa P-25. Low-temperature electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements performed on this material provided the first experimental evidence for the formation of oxygen vacancies (V(o)), which were also found responsible for the visible-light absorption. The V(o) surface defects might result from high-speed inter-particle collisions and shock waves generated by LFUS sonication impacting the TiO(2) particles. This is in contrast to a number of well-established technologies, where the formation of oxygen vacancies on the TiO(2) surface often requires harsh technological conditions and complicated procedures, such as annealing at high temperatures, radio-frequency-induced plasma or ion sputtering. Thus, this study reports for the first time the preparation of visible-light responsive TiO(2)-based photocatalysts by using a simple LFUS-based approach to induce oxygen vacancies at the nano-TiO(2) surface. These findings might open new avenues for synthesis of novel nano-TiO(2)-based photocatalysts capable of destroying water or airborne pollutants and microorganisms under visible light illumination.

A Comparison of Solar Photocatalytic Inactivation of Waterborne E. coli Using Tris (2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II), Rose Bengal, and TiO2

Reference GGEC-PRESENTATION-2007-008View record in Web of Science Record created on 2007-04-18, modified on 2017-05-12

Photocatalytic discoloration of aqueous malachite green solutions by UV-illuminated TiO2 nanoparticles under air and nitrogen atmospheres: effects of counter-ions and pH

Under air atmosphere, the photocatalytic discoloration of malachite green (MG) aqueous solutions (a triphenylmethane dye) in the presence of TiO(2) and UV light followed an oxidative pathway, involving an N-demethylation process evidenced by a blue shifting of the main absorption band with a maximum at 618 nm. This oxidative process was affected by the nature of the dye counter-ion and the pH of the solution. At pH 6.0, the oxidation was found to be faster than at pH 3.0, perhaps due to the poor interactions between MG and the semiconductor surface. Furthermore, with the presence of oxalate as counter-ion, the oxidative photocatalytic discoloration was negatively affected mainly at acidic pH. Under nitrogen atmosphere, some evidence was found about the double behaviour of MG when involved in the photocatalytic discoloration reactions pertaining to TiO(2) under these conditions. MG could be simultaneously oxidized, forming N-demethylated by-products, or reduced, thus leading to leuco-malachite green (LMG) (a colorless and toxic substance) as the main product. The LMG formation is favoured at low pH in the presence of oxalate as counter-ion.

TiO2 photocatalytic inactivation under simulated solar light of bacterial consortia in domestic wastewaters previously treated by UASB, duckweed and facultative ponds

In this work, TiO2 photocatalysis was used to disinfect domestic wastewaters previously treated by different biological treatment systems: Upward-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), facultative pond, and duckweed pond. The microorganisms monitored were E. coli, total coliforms, Shigella species, and Salmonella species. Photocatalytic experiments were carried out using two light sources: a solar simulator (UV intensity: 68-70 W m-2) and black-light lamps (BLL UV intensity: 17-20 W m-2). Samples were taken after each treatment stage. Results indicate that bacterial photocatalytic inactivation is affected by characteristics of the effluent, including turbidity, concentration of organic matter, and bacterial concentration, which depend of the type of biological pretreatment previously used.