@article{MAKHILLRJAS201914610179,
title = {Water Purification from Organic Pollutants using a Photo-Oxidation},
journal = {Research Journal of Applied Sciences},
volume = {14},
number = {6},
pages = {192-197},
year = {2019},
issn = {1815-932x},
doi = {rjasci.2019.192.197},
url = {https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?issn=1815-932x&doi=rjasci.2019.192.197},
author = {Bhishma,Mukesh and},
keywords = {organic pollutants indicating,photo-oxidation,Solar energy,improve,water treatment,silicon},
abstract = {Water treatment scheme is proposed where two variables are taken. BiVO4 photoanode combined
with a thin film silicon solar cell. It has a band gap energy of 2.4 eV which has good catalytic properties for the
degradation of phenol and chloroform. Applying an external bias voltage in order to reach the required
potentials for pollutant degradation. To cover the voltage needs, an a-Si:H/nc-Si:H solar cell was coupled with
the BiVO4. This solar cell was specifically designed to work under the transmitted spectrum of the BiVO4 with
thicknesses of 200 and 1000 nm for the top and bottom cell, respectively. This device has successfully been
fabricated and tested for removal of organic contaminants from an aqueous solution. The device with the solar
cell performed better than, the BiVO4 photoanode alone with a similar external bias voltage applied, suggesting
that the solar cell does not only act as a voltage source but also as a current source. To compare the performance
of this device to the commercially available ZnO photoanode illuminated by UV light, an energy balance for
phenol removal was performed. The energy needed for phenol removal was reduced from 1.83 Wh/mg with
the ZnO/UV device to 0.79 Wh/mg with the BiVO4 with a solar cell indicating the potential of the proposed
device to improve the water treatment of organic pollutants by using Earth-abundant materials and solar energy.}
}