Photochemical Degradation of Cyanides and Thiocyanates from an Industrial Wastewater.

We have explored the simultaneous degradation of cyanides and thiocyanate present in wastewaters from a cokemaking factory using photoassisted methods under varied illumination conditions (from simulated solar light to UV light). Overall, the photochemical degradation of cyanides was more efficient than that of thiocyanates, regardless of the illumination conditions, the effect being more pronounced in the absence of a photocatalyst. This is due to their different degradation mechanism that in the case of thiocyanates is dominated by fast recombination reactions and/or charge transfer reactions to electron scavengers.

Photochemical reactivity of apical oxygen in KSr(2)Nb(5)O(15) materials for environmental remediation under UV irradiation.

The photocatalytic activity of a series of novel KSrNbO materials was studied using the photooxidation of methylene blue as model reaction. The influence of the calcination time upon the crystalline structure and photoactivity was verified. Characterization was performed by XRD, SEM, FTIR, UV-Vis/DR, Helium picnometry, and N and CO adsorption-desorption isotherms.