Abstract
A photochemical reaction by TiO2 under UV irradiation has been proven to be a very promising technology for effective removal of air contaminants. However, because of UV’s high operating cost and harmfulness to humans, many researchers have been looking for alternative ways to activate the photocatalyst. For example, chemical doping enabled a modified TiO2 to activate under visible light, however, so far, with a relatively low photoreactivity in most cases. Recently, various types of TiO2 photochemical reactor systems with different light sources have been tested to oxidize/remove elemental mercury (Hg0) from a simulated combustion flue gas. Notably, the photochemical removal of Hg0 by pure TiO2 under visible light (410–510 nm) was proven to be as highly effective as UV light. The results suggest that upon irradiation by visible light, TiO2 may be used to selectively remove gas-phase Hg0 among other air contaminants (those that usually suffer from low photoreactivity even under the strongest UV light) from combustion flue gas.
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Acknowledgement
The author would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr. Pratim Biswas who initiated the idea of using TiO2 with UV in the gas-phase mercury removal for his inception, dedication, and guidance.
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Lee, T.G.“. (2010). Photocatalytic Removal of Gas-Phase Elemental Mercury Using TiO2 . In: Anpo, M., Kamat, P. (eds) Environmentally Benign Photocatalysts. Nanostructure Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48444-0_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48444-0_18
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