Efficiency of Immobilized Nano TiO2 on Fe-ZSM-5 Zeolite in Organic Pollutants Removal from Petroleum Refinery Wastewater

Effluents from oil refineries contain different concentrations of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Given the toxicity of the aromatic fraction that is not readily degradable by conventional treatment processes, advanced processes are required for their removal. This study investigated the photocatalytic degradation and removal of organic contaminants from oil refinery effluents. For this purpose, TiO2-Fe-ZSM-5 photocatalyst was initially produced by immobilizing TiO2 into the structure of synthetic Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite. X-Ray diffraction, X-Ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen sorption/desorption techniques were then employed to determine the structural and physicochemical properties of the products. High purity TiO2-Fe-ZSM-5 photocatalyst with a TiO2 percentage of 29.28 and a specific surface area of 304.6 m2g-1 was synthesized. The photocatalyst thus obtained was then applied for the removal of organic pollutants from the effluent of Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery. A maximum COD reduction of more than 80% was achieved under optimum conditions (i.e., pH: 4, catalyst concentration: 3 g/l, temperature: 45 °C, and UV exposure time: 240 min).