Performance evaluation of Zr(CUR)/NiCo2S4/CuCo2S4 and Zr(CUR)/CuCo2S4/Ag2S composites for photocatalytic degradation of the methyl parathion pesticide using a spiral-shaped photocatalytic reactor.

Zr(CUR)/NiCo2S4/CuCo2S4 and Zr(CUR)/CuCo2S4/Ag2S ternary composites were synthesized as efficient photocatalysts, and well characterized through XRD, FTIR, DRS, FE-SEM, EDS, and EDS mapping techniques. The potential of a spiral-shaped photocatalytic reactor was evaluated for degradation of the methyl parathion (MP) pesticide using synthesized photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied for analysis of the hydrodynamics behaviour and mass transport occurring inside the reactor. The experiments were performed based on a developed CCD-RSM model, while the desirability function (DF) was used for optimization of the process. Findings showed that the highest MP degradation percentage was 98.70% at optimal operating values including 20 mg L-1, 0.60 g L-1, 8 and 40 min for MP concentration, catalyst dosage, pH, and reaction time, respectively. This study clearly demonstrated that high degradation efficiency can be achieved using a spiral-shaped photocatalytic reactor rather than a traditional annular reactor at same conditions. The increase in reaction rate is related to the higher average turbulence kinetic energy in the spiral-shaped reactor over the traditional reactor, which results in the increased diffusivity and improves the mass and momentum transfer.