A practical approach using a novel porous photocatalyst/hydrogel composite for wastewater treatment

In this study, a practical use-suited highly porous zinc oxide/polyacrylamide hydrogel composite photocatalyst (ZnO/PAM) was successfully synthesized by varying the precursor ratio upon photoinitiated polymerization of acrylamide (AM), N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA) and zinc oxide (ZnO). The photocatalytic treatment of real wastewater was investigated. The results revealed that porous ZnO/PAM was effective for the removal of color, BOD and COD in the Mae Kha canal and industrial wastewater. Furthermore, it showed good long-term stability and recycling performance, as the degradation efficiency remained up to 81.55% for MB and 75.4% for MO after 50 degradation cycles. Based on the results, the highly porous zinc oxide/polyacrylamide hydrogel composite prepared by using a specific precursor ratio has good potential for use in real wastewater treatment. Separation of the porous hydrogel from wastewater can be achieved by the preparation of a floatable porous ZnO/PAM hydrogel.