Faculty Publications
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Item Degradation of nitroaromatic compounds: a novel approach using iron from laterite soil(Springer Verlag, 2018) Amritha, A.S.; Manu, B.The Fenton’s oxidation process has been found to be a simple and economical method for the treatment of nitroaromatic compounds in water. In the present study, the iron extracted from the laterite soil was used as a catalyst and optimization of pH, hydrogen peroxide concentration and iron concentration was studied for different initial concentrations of 2-nitroaniline (2-NA), 3-nitroaniline (3-NA) and 4-nitroaniline (4-NA). The optimum pH obtained was 2.5 for 2-NA and 3-NA and 3 for 4-NA. The maximum removal efficiency obtained was 85.3%, 84.3% and 98.7% for 0.5 mM initial concentration at a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 3.5 mM, 4.5 mM and 5 mM for 2-NA, 3-NA and 4-NA, respectively, with a constant iron concentration of 0.05 mM. © 2018, The Author(s).Item Polymer-based immobilized Fe2O3–TiO2/PVP catalyst preparation method and the degradation of triclosan in treated greywater effluent by solar photocatalysis(Academic Press, 2021) Pragada, S.C.; Thalla, A.K.The present study involves a novel protocol to develop a ternary composite catalyst for an effective post-treatment technique for greywater. The ternary film of Fe2O3–TiO2/polyvinyl pyrrolidine (PVP) is coated on a glass tube using spray coating with annealing at 320 °C. The structure, thermal, microstructure, and surface properties of the coated film are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The scratch hardness of photocatalysts at different Fe2O3/TiO2 compositions is investigated based on the width measurement of scratch using FESEM analysis. Results show that at an optimum coating of 5% of Fe2O3/TiO2 composition catalytic film, the maximum scratch hardness (7.984 GPa) is obtained. Also, the photocatalyst has the highest cohesive bond strength and wearing resistance. The degradation of triclosan (TCS) in treated greywater, discharged from the anaerobic-aerobic treatment system, is investigated at a lab-scale using a solar photocatalytic reactor. The response surface analysis has been performed from the different sets of experimental trials for various optimal parameters. It is observed that the TCS degradation efficiency of 83.27% has resulted under optimum conditions. © 2021 Elsevier LtdItem Role of ZSM5 catalyst and char susceptor on the synthesis of chemicals and hydrocarbons from microwave-assisted in-situ catalytic co-pyrolysis of algae and plastic wastes(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Suriapparao, D.V.; Tanneru, T.; Rajasekhar Reddy, B.R.; Yerrayya, A.; Bhasuru, B.A.; Pandian, P.; Prakash, S.R.; Sankar Rao, C.; Sridevi, V.; Desinghu, J.The synergetic effect between algae biomass in co-pyrolysis with synthetic plastics (polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and expanded polystyrene (EPS)) was investigated in this work. Individual feedstock pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis of algae with PP, PE, and EPS were conducted at a constant supply of microwave energy (420 J/s). Pyrolysis char was used as a susceptor in all the experiments. The average heating rate was varied in the range of ∼50–60 °C/min for achieving the final pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C. In catalytic co-pyrolysis, the ZSM-5 catalyst was used for upgrading the physicochemical properties of pyrolysis oil. The use of catalyst promoted the excessive cracking of biomass in co-pyrolysis, leading to higher gas and coke residue comparatively. The viscosity, density, and flash point of oil obtained in catalytic co-pyrolysis were significantly reduced. While the oil obtained from individual pyrolysis of algae is rich in phenolic derivatives, and that of PP, PE has aliphatic hydrocarbons, and EPS has monoaromatic hydrocarbons as major compounds. The synergistic role of plastic and biomass in co-pyrolysis was observed in the formation of products and oil composition. The bio-oil from catalytic co-pyrolysis is composed of aliphatic oxygenates, aliphatic hydrocarbons, cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons, and phenolics. The chemicals and hydrocarbons present in the oil have a carbon number in the range of C6 to C30. An increase in carbon and hydrogen elemental composition was observed in bio-oil obtained from co-pyrolysis. © 2021 Elsevier LtdItem Exploring the Synergy of B, Ce Dopants in Codoped Titanium Dioxide Multifunctional Photocatalysts for Antibiotic Degradation and Microbial Disinfection Under Solar Light(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Manjunatha, M.; Chandewar, P.R.; Mahalingam, H.An eco-friendly, controllable citrate-EDTA complexing sol–gel method is employed to systematically synthesize a series of BxCe1−xTiO2 (x = 0.9, 0.8, 0.7 at%) codoped photocatalysts. The degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and norfloxacin (NOR) antibiotics, as well as Escherichia coli disinfection under sunlight, is assessed using these synthesized codoped photocatalysts. After physicochemical characterization of the synthesized catalysts for particle size, surface area, morphology, crystal structure, surface chemistry, bandgap energy values, and recombination, it is evident that the codoping has improved the visible light absorption, reduced the recombination, and promoted higher crystallinity as well as anatase phase content. The codoped catalysts also demonstrate an enhanced photocatalytic activity under solar light with regard to the degradation of the chosen antibiotics when compared to the performance of the monodoped counterparts or the latest generation catalysts from the literature. The highest degradation performance (≈98%) is shown by B0.8Ce0.2TiO2 in the case of CIP and B0.9Ce0.1TiO2 in the case of NOR. Also, in the case of microbial disinfection, these codoped catalysts are much better (by a factor of ≈10) than that of the monodoped catalysts. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.Item Unprecedented Electroreduction of CO2over Metal Organic Framework-Derived Intermetallic Nano-Alloy Cu0.85Ni0.15/C(American Chemical Society, 2022) Payra, S.; Devaraj, N.; Tarafder, K.; Roy, S.Designing suitable catalysts for efficient and selective electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 is a need of the hour, and in this regard, the well-defined, highly dispersed active metal centers can be a trendsetting research endeavor toward CO2 electroreduction due to the maximum atom utilization and unique electronic structure. This study describes the synthesis and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction activity of atomistically dispersed Cu/C and Ni/C and the intermetallic nano-alloy Cu0.85 Ni0.15 /C. The catalysts were synthesized from the corresponding MOF precursors. The successful synthesis of the monometallic and intermetallic nano-alloys was established from structural, surface morphological, and electronic properties. Cu0.85 Ni0.15 /C exhibited an unprecedented electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 with a high selectivity and high faradaic efficiency toward CH3 OH. The kinetic studies and the first-principles calculations elucidated the intricate mechanism and the superior activity of electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 over the intermetallic Cu0.85 Ni0.15 /C catalyst. © 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.Item Synthesis, Characterization and Performance Evaluation of TiO2-SnO2 photocatalyst for Removal of Toxic Hexavalent Chromium(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022) Rathna, T.; JagadeeshBabu, J.B.; Ruben Sudhakar, D.R.Heavy metal pollution bears a substantial threat to flora, fauna, humans, and milieu. The elimination of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from polluted water is of considerable research interest from a health and environmental viewpoint. This work aims for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) using TiO2 and SnO2 as catalysts. The process parameters varied are catalyst dosage, pH, initial concentration of model pollutant with citric acid (CA) as a scavenger. TiO2-SnO2 (in the molar ratios 10:1, 20:1, 30:1, and 40:1)-based catalysts were synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The 40:1 catalyst showed higher photoactivity than other catalysts and could extend the optical activity in the visible light region. The complete reduction of Cr(VI) with a concentration of 15 mg/L and pH 3.0 was achieved when catalyst concentration was 0.6 g/L over a period of 30 min. The XRD (X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy) and ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) results confirm the Ti-Sn heterojunction formation, and XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) analysis corroborate the presence of trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] on TiO2-SnO2 catalyst after reduction. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.Item Microwave-assisted in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of polystyrene: Analysis of product formation and energy consumption using machine learning approach(Institution of Chemical Engineers, 2022) Terapalli, A.; Kamireddi, D.; Sridevi, V.; Tukarambai, M.; Suriapparao, D.V.; Sankar Rao, C.S.; Gautam, R.; Modi, P.R.Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis is a prominent technology for the production of high-quality fuel intermediates and value-added chemicals from polystyrene waste. The objectives of this study were to understand the role of catalyst (KOH) on polystyrene (PS) pyrolysis. Pyrolysis experiments were conducted using a microwave oven at a power of 450 W and a temperature of 600 °C. Graphite susceptor (10 g) was used to achieve the required pyrolysis conditions. In addition, the design of experiments (DoE) with machine learning (ML) was used to understand the loading of PS (5 g, 27.5 g, and 50 g), and KOH (5 g, 7.5 g, and 10 g). The products including oil, gas, and char were collected in every experiment. The average heating rates achieved were in the range of 30–50 °C/min. The specific microwave power (microwave power per unit mass of feedstock) decreased with an increase in PS amount from 90 to 9 W/g. However, the specific microwave energy (microwave energy per unit mass of feedstock) (27–73 kJ/g) was in line with the average heating rate. The maximum yield of pyrolysis oil was found to be 95 wt%, which was obtained with a PS:KOH ratio of 27.5 g: 7.5 g. The oil yield increased from 80 to 95 wt% when the mass of the catalyst increased from 5 to 7.5 g. On the other hand, the gas yield (3–18 wt%) varied significantly and char yield (1–2 wt%) was not influenced. The yields predicted by ML matched well with the experimental yields. This study demonstrated the potential of KOH as a catalyst for PS pyrolysis technology as the formation of aliphatic hydrocarbons in the oil fraction was significantly promoted. © 2022 The Institution of Chemical EngineersItem Synthesis of sustainable chemicals from waste tea powder and Polystyrene via Microwave-Assisted in-situ catalytic Co-Pyrolysis: Analysis of pyrolysis using experimental and modeling approaches(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Suriapparao, D.V.; Sridevi, V.; Ramesh, R.; Sankar Rao, C.S.; Tukarambai, M.; Kamireddi, D.; Gautam, R.; Dharaskar, S.A.; Pritam, K.In the current study, catalytic co-pyrolysis was performed on waste tea powder (WTP) and polystyrene (PS) wastes to convert them into value-added products using KOH catalyst. The feed mixture influenced the heating rates (17–75 °C/min) and product formation. PS promoted the formation of oil and WTP enhanced the char formation. The maximum oil yield (80 wt%) was obtained at 15 g:5 g, and the maximum char yield (44 wt%) was achieved at 5 g:25 g (PS:WTP). The pyrolysis index (PI) increased with the increase in feedstock quantity. High PI was noticed at 25 g:5 g, and low PI was at 5 g:5 g (PS:WTP). Low energy consumption and low pyrolysis time enhanced the PI value. Significant interactions were noticed during co-pyrolysis. The obtained bio-oil was analyzed using GC–MS and a plausible reaction mechanism is presented. Catalyst and co-pyrolysis synergy promoted the formation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons by reducing the oxygenated products. © 2022 Elsevier LtdItem Non-ferrous Fenton’s Oxidation of Ametryn Using Bioleached E-waste Copper as a Catalyst(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022) Bhaskar, S.; Manoj, A.; Manu, B.; Sreenivasa, M.Y.; Mudipu, V.Shake flask study on bioleaching of copper from e-waste using novel isolated bacterial strain Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans BMSNITK17 was conducted and reported. Under suitable conditions, about 77% of copper was recovered. The process was optimized with several influencing parameters like pulp density, pH, inoculum, temperature, and shake flask speed. To find the vital variables that affect copper dissolution, correlation studies and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed. Investigation on the application of recovered copper as a catalyst in Fenton’s oxidation of ametryn proved the catalytic role of copper with 87% of ametryn degradation efficiency. This study confirms the usage potential of acidophilic bacterial strain toward recovery of valuable metals from e-waste and its application as a catalyst in advanced oxidation process for the degradation of organic pollutants. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.Item Selective oxidation of biomass-derived furfural to 2(5H)-furanone using trifluoroacetic acid as the catalyst and hydrogen peroxide as a green oxidant(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Bhat, N.S.; Kumar, R.; Jana, A.; Mal, S.S.; Dutta, S.In this work, biomass-derived furfural has been selectively oxidized to 2(5H)-furanone using aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the green oxidant. Among various homogeneous acid catalysts screened for the transformation, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was found to be the most suitable candidate that afforded up to 52% isolated yield of 2(5H)-furanone under mild conditions (RT, 1 h). In addition, succinic acid was recovered in nearly 20% yield from the aqueous layer. The organic solvent-free, gram-scale reaction was optimized on temperature, the molar ratio of H2O2 and furfural, and the amount of TFA used. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.