Volume 19 Issue 3
Sep.  2026
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Article Navigation >  Water Science and Engineering  > 2026  >  19(3): 321-331
Daniel R. Ramos, Silvio D. Aguilar, Blanca Astray, Laura Rodríguez-Lorenzo, J. Arturo Santaballa, Moisés Canle. 2026: An efficient, green, and easily recoverable macroscopic photocatalyst for upscaling solar water treatment. Water Science and Engineering, 19(3): 321-331. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2026.06.006
Citation: Daniel R. Ramos, Silvio D. Aguilar, Blanca Astray, Laura Rodríguez-Lorenzo, J. Arturo Santaballa, Moisés Canle. 2026: An efficient, green, and easily recoverable macroscopic photocatalyst for upscaling solar water treatment. Water Science and Engineering, 19(3): 321-331. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2026.06.006
shu

An efficient, green, and easily recoverable macroscopic photocatalyst for upscaling solar water treatment

doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2026.06.006

  • a. Department of Chemistry, University of A Coruña, A Coruña E-15071, Spain;

  • b. Department of Chemistry and Exact Sciences, Technical University of Loja, Loja 11 01 608, Ecuador;

  • c. International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga 4751-330, Portugal

Funds:

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovació

on (Grant No. TED 2021-132667B—I00), the EU NextGeneration EU/PRTR (Grant No. MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), and the Xunta de Galicia regional government (Grant No. GPC/ED431B 2020/52).

  • Received Date: 2025-11-01
  • Accepted Date: 2026-06-02
    Abstract
  • The continuous release of persistent organic contaminants into aquatic environments is a major concern due to their resistance to conventional treatment methods. Among advanced oxidation technologies, solar photocatalysis is one of the most sustainable approaches for pollutant removal, although its large-scale implementation remains limited. A novel bulk photocatalytic composite was prepared for sunlight-driven degradation of organic pollutants in water. Natural clay and titanium dioxide were homogeneously mixed, extruded into 0.5-cm pellets, and calcined. Physicochemical characterisation of the material provided insight into its catalytic activity. Experiments with several representative persistent pollutants (phenol, methyl orange, terbumeton, and N-hexylpyridinium bromide) in different aqueous matrices (river water, sewage, and seawater) demonstrated its broad versatility. Together with its low cost and ease of production, this may enable wider application of heterogeneous photocatalysis in water and wastewater treatment. Kinetic studies under various composition ratios and operational conditions revealed optimal performance at a photocatalyst (80% titanium dioxide and 20% clay) load of 20 g/L in a solar batch photoreactor. The half-lives of 10-mg/L pollutant solutions in distilled water were approximately 72 min, 68 min, 27 min, and 48 min for phenol, methyl orange, terbumeton, and N-hexylpyridinium bromide, respectively. Phenol degradation was slower in river water, sewage, and seawater, with half-lives of approximately 81 min, 106 min, and 129 min, respectively. The photocatalyst exhibited strong activity under sunlight and, owing to its appropriate size and mechanical stability, allowed easy and efficient recovery and reuse, which are key factors for large-scale applications in water treatment systems. This photocatalytic composite is highly promising for upscaling solar photocatalytic water treatment as a cost-effective, green, efficient, easily recoverable, and reusable material.

     

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