Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, cilt.102, sa.10, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
In this study, the removal of microplastics (MPs) in the effluent of urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated by photocatalytic oxidation processes with nanopowder zinc oxide (UVC/n-ZnO). MPs were found in wastewater samples in the range of 41.5–56.5 pieces/L, most of which were black and fibre structures measuring 0.2–4.98 mm in size. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, experiments on reaction time and catalyst effect were carried out. In the second stage, Taguchi experimental design was applied by selecting pH, reaction time and catalyst dose as independent variable parameters. In the experimental studies, the maximum microplastic (MP) removal efficiency of 81 % was achieved at pH 7, 0.5 g n-ZnO/L and 6 h reaction time. Under these conditions, the treatment cost was €140.03/m3. In the model; based on SN ratios (R2 = 0.994) and means (R2 = 0.987), for the maximum removal efficiency parameter levels were determined as pH 5, 0.5 g n-ZnO/L and 8 h. Verification experiments were performed and 76 % MP removal was obtained. As a results of ANOVA, reaction time is the most effective parameter, followed by pH and catalyst dose. According to FTIR spectra, MPs were photodegraded to low molecular weight products as a result of UVC/n-ZnO process. These encouraging results indicate that the photocatalytic processes can be successfully used in real wastewaters for sustainable MP removal.