Effect of surfactant on TiO2/UV mediated heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of DDT in contaminated water

In the present study we describe the TiO2/UV mediated heterogeneous photocatalytic treatment of 4,4-Dichloro-Diphenyl-1,1,1-Trichloroethane (DDT) contaminated water and the effect of surfactant (Surfox) on this process. A novel photocatalytic system is designed, made by TiO2 coated tubular glass in a photoreactor with UY light illumination. The photo catalytic degradation was observed to be very fast and the treatment time was reduced to 40 min which is much faster compared to the biodegradation of the pollutants. After this study we conclude that the best result for the degradation is found to be at 200ml/min air flow, CMC (critical micelle concentration) and above CMC of the surfactant. The surfactant concentration does not inhibit the generation of free radicals involved in pesticides photocatalytic degradation.