title: Solar photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol with ZnO nanoparticles: optimisation with D-optimal design and study of intermediate mechanisms.
abstract: In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of toxic pollutant (2-chlorophenol) in the presence of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was investigated under solar radiation. The three main factors, namely pH of solution, solar intensity and calcination temperature, were selected in order to examine their effects on the efficiency of the degradation process. The response surface methodology (RSM) technique based on D-optimal design was applied to optimise the process. ANOVA analysis showed that solar intensity and calcination temperature were the two significant factors for degradation efficiency. The optimum conditions in the model were solar intensity at 19.8 W/m2, calcination temperature at 404 °C and pH of 6.0. The maximum degradation efficiency was predicted to be 90.5% which was in good agreement with the actual experimental value of 93.5%. The fit of the D-optimal design correlated very well with the experimental results with higher values of R2and R2adjcorrelation coefficients of 0.9847 and 0.9676, respectively. The intermediate mechanism behaviour of the 2-chlorophenol degradation process was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results confirmed that 2-chlorophenol was converted to acetic acid, a non-toxic compound.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre For Sustainable Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. muneer711@gmail.com.|Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. muneer711@gmail.com.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Petroleum, Hadhramout University of Science & Technology, Mukalla, Hadhramout, Yemen. muneer711@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Muneer M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ba-Abbad
authors.affiliation: Research Centre For Sustainable Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.|Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Takriff
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abdul Amir H
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kadhum
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.|Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abu Bakar
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mohamad
authors.affiliation: Gas Processing Centre, Qatar University, P. O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Abdelbaki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benamor
authors.affiliation: Research Centre For Sustainable Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.|Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abdul Wahab
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Mohammad
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D002733:Chlorophenols; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D053758:Nanoparticles; D013472:Sunlight; D013696:Temperature; D015034:Zinc Oxide
chemical_list: D002733:Chlorophenols; C030683:2-chlorophenol; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: 2-chlorophenol; D-optimal design; Photocatalytic; ZnO NPs