Abstract

In this study, photocatalytic degradation of p-cresol and dibutyl-phthalate (DBP) biorecalcitrant aromatic compounds in real abattoir wastewater was carried out. A modified polyaniline (PANI), PANI/TiO2/ZnO composite catalyst illuminated with 25 W UV-C lamp in an annular photoreactor, was used to catalyse the degradation process. The composite was prepared by “in situ” chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline. Characterization of the catalysts (TiO2 and ZnO) and their composites (TiO2/ZnO and PANI/TiO2/ZnO) was done using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The photocatalytic process attained degradation of 93% and 73% for p-cresol and DBP, respectively, after ten hours of irradiation at a recirculation rate of forty-five ml/min. Furthermore, the reductions of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were 88% and 78%, respectively. The study has demonstrated that PANI/TiO2/ZnO composite has the capacity to effectively photodegrade aromatic organic compounds found in abattoir wastewater.