Estudio de la producción de hidrógeno mediante fotocatálisis heterogénea

Abstract

In this thesis the hydrogen production by heterogeneous photocatalysis from aqueous solutions of organic compounds has been studied with the aim of combining of energy production and degradation of these organic pollutants, in the same process. The importance of this technology is that it allows, from renewable resources such as solar and biomass, to get clean energy and in turn decrease the degree of contamination of water used._x000D_ In this sense, the following photocatalytic systems have been examined in order to improve the photocatalytic efficiency in the laboratory: TiO2 doped with nitrogen, a composite of CdS and WO3 and finally, a composite of CdS and ZnS. Subsequently, the catalysts that have exhibited better efficiency were tested at pilot-plant scale._x000D_ Also, various techniques have been used to characterize physicochemical properties of the prepared samples, such as elemental analysis, structural, textural, optical, and surface morphology. The results of the characterization studies have facilitated to establish a correlation between the properties of the catalysts and photocatalytic activity observed in photocatalytic H2 generation experiments._x000D_ In general, it has been found that it was possible to carry out, simultaneously, the photocatalytic H2 generation and partial mineralization of different sacrificial agents, i.e. formic acid and municipal wastewater. The best photocatalytic efficiency, under visible irradiation, was obtained with Pt/(CdS/ZnS) composite for the following optimized experimental conditions: ratio CdS:ZnS 1:1, sintering temperature 700°C, 3 g·L-1 of catalyst, 0.05 M formic acid, and pH 3.75.

Date of Award	15 Oct 2014
Original language	Undefined/Unknown
Supervisor	Jose Peral Perez (Director)