Photodegradation of bisphenol a using hybrid oxalate-pyrite/chitosan catalyst / Rathashine A/p R.sugumaran

Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Technology) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2025

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The global issue of untreated wastewater, comprising a hazardous mix of toxins and plastics, poses threats to human health and the environment. By addressing cost concerns and environmental protection, photocatalytic degradation using visible light is vital. Challenges such as slow-reacting photocatalysts and the selectivity nature of adsorption techniques have prompted to the hybrid technique to overcome the drawbacks. The objective is to study the performance of hybrid oxalate-pyrite/chitosan in photocatalytic degradation of Bisphenol A under visible light irradiation. The performance of oxalate-pyrite and chitosan when used solely is analysed and compared with the hybrid method. Parameters, such as pH (3–11), catalyst dosage (0.5–6.0 g/L), and organic pollutant concentration (5 mg/L–20 mg/L), were analysed to evaluate photodegradation. The hybrid system outperforms, achieving optimum degradation percentage of 95.29%. Contrastingly, Oxalate pyrite or Chitosan alone yields lower degradation rates. Oxalate pyrite yields optimum degradation of BPA at 14.6%. Chitosan, achieved optimum degradation percentages of 17.61%. Lower initial concentrations of organic pollutants, increasing photocatalyst/dosage and pH of 7, proved highest optimum degradation of 99.24%. This hybrid catalytic system could be useful for treating wastewater in the plastics, epoxy resin, and thermal paper coatings industries where BPA is used often.