Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye in Distilled and Sea Water Using Indian Edible Chuna (Calcium Oxide/Hydroxide) as Photocatalyst

摘要

Photocatalytic degradation of the Methylene Blue dye is studied in distilled water (laboratory conditions) and sea water (field condition) using Indian Edible Chuna (Calcium oxide/hydroxide) as a photocatalyst. It is observed that the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye in sea/saline water is very slow, compared to that in distilled water. This is due to the fact that salts present in the sea water hinder the photocatalysis process by reducing the direct contact between the photocatalyst and dye. Present study infers that photocatalytic degradation process might be very slow in actual field conditions (industrial waste water) as compared to those of laboratory conditions (distilled water) generally studied and published; and should be understood in more details for realistic applications of photocatalysis.