Removal and decomposition of malodorants by using titanium dioxide photocatalyst supported on fiber activated carbon

Effective and compact deodorization systems have been required for the measure of small-scale emission sources of offensive odors usually found in urban areas. We have developed a sheet material with titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst supported on fiber activated carbon (FAC) for a compact deodorization system. In the deodorization system using the TiO2/FAC sheet and a ultraviolet lamp, malodorants can be collected on the TiO2/FAC sheet by adsorption and then decomposed by photocatalysis with UV-irradiation. In this study, we obtained basic information about the removal and the decomposition of malodorants in the photocatalytic deodorization system using the TiO2/FAC sheet. The malodorants used in this study were methyl mercaptan, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide. In addition, two kinds of light sources, a black light bulb (BLB; dominant wavelength: 365 nm) and an ultraviolet germicidal lamp (UV2; dominant wavelength: 254 nm) were used to analyze the effect on removal and decomposition characteristics by different dominant wavelengths. The removal rates of malodorants from the gas phase were determined in the deodorization system in the presence or absence of the TiO2/FAC sheet and UV-irradiation in order to study each removal effect due to adsorption onto the TiO2/FAC sheet, direct photolysis by UV-irradiation, and photocatalytic decomposition. The effect of adsorption onto the TiO2 /FAC sheet was pronounced in this batch-type experiment. The effect of photocatalysis was observed from the removal rates of methyl mercaptan. The percent oxidation of ammonia to nitrate and that of methyl mercaptan to sulfate were examined by determining products, i.e. nitrate and sulfate ions, with purified water after the reaction. The formation of nitrate or sulfate was not observed without UV-irradiation using the BLB, while the reactions progressed in the presence of the TiO2/FAC sheet. When the UV2 lamp was used, the oxidation of methyl mercaptan to sulfate occurred without the TiO2/FAC sheet. This suggests that the decomposition characteristics of malodorants were dependent on the wavelength of the light source.