PHOTOCATALYTIC DECOMPOSITION OF CRUDE-OIL SLICKS USING TIO2 ON A FLOATING SUBSTRATE

One of the greatest man-made environmental disasters is crude oil slic ks. Oil slicks are primarily composed of hydrocarbons which often have long residence times in the environment. However, using the photocata lyst titanium dioxide, TiO2, and UV-A (330-430 nm) radiation from the Sun yields complete oxidation of hydrocarbons into H2O and CO2 on the surface of the water. It was observed that approximately 70 mol% of th e aromatic and 25 mol% of the alkene model photodecomposed in 30 min u sing the TiO2 catalyst and a UV lamp. TiO2 is a nontoxic semiconductin g powder which can be readily placed on a floating substrate, catalyzi ng the reaction, and then subsequently easily recovered. (C) 1994 Acad emic Press, Inc.