REMOVAL OF TRIBUTYL PHOSPHATE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY TiO2 HETEROGENEOUS PHOTOCATALYSIS SUPPORTED OVER A NEW METAL PLATE WITH KINETIC STUDY

Abstract The aim of this investigation was to study the degradation of tributyl phosphate (TBP) in aqueous solution by heterogeneous photocatalysis (UV-C/TiO2). To perform the investigation, aqueous solutions containing the contaminant were exposed to UV radiation in the absence or presence of TiO2 in suspension or supported on a Fe-Cr metal alloy plate. TBP analyses before and after the treatment were performed by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) in order to quantify the contaminant degradation. The results showed that the TiO2 photocatalytic system was able to remove TBP from the solution and the formation of some by-products was observed. TiO2 photocatalytic systems were able to reduce acute toxicity in an Artemia Salina bioassay according to the increase in LC50 from 10.2 ± 0.5%(v/v) to 16.9 ± 0.6 %(v/v) for the immobilized system and to levels which were not possible to detect by the applied method any more for the suspension system.