Effect of sunlight and ultraviolet radiation on the efficacy of Fe-doped titanium dioxide (Fe-TiO2) nanoparticles for the removal of furfural from aqueous solutions

Furfural, chemical compound very harmful to human health and difficult to degrade, is used or generated in many industries, including petrochemical, paper, and oil refining industries. The study evaluates the performance of Fe-TiCh nanoparticles for the removal of furfural in the presence of sunlight and UV radiation. Fe-TiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared by the sol-gel method, and the characteristics of the resultant nanoparticles were determined using scanning electron microscopy. Samples with known concentrations of furfural and nanoparticles were individually exposed to sunlight and UV radiation under varying conditions, and the residual furfural concentration was measured using high- performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that for both processes the efficiency of furfural removal increased with increased reaction time, nanoparticle loading, and pH, whereas the efficiency decreased with increased furfural concentratioa The highest removal efficiencies of the Fe-TiCh/UV and Fe-TiCh/sun processes were 95 and 76%, respectively. In general, the degradation and elimination rate of furfural using Fe-TiO₂/UV process was higher than Fe-TiCVsun process because TiO₂ nanoparticles can only be activated upon irradiation with photons of light in the UV domain.