System Development for Concomitant Degradation of Pesticides and Power Generation
2017
Peiter, Andréia | Fiuza, Tanna E. R. | de Matos, Roberto | Antunes, Augusto Celso | Antunes, Sandra Regina Masetto | Lindino, Cleber A.
To meet demand for processes that minimize the environmental impact generated by waste, efficient systems that degrade such substances and use them as an alternative source for renewable energy generation are increasingly becoming needed. Increased food production to meet the needs of the world’s increasing population has encouraged the use of agrochemicals in order to ensure productivity in crops. However, excessive use of pesticides has caused contamination of natural systems and, therefore, of living beings. In this context, this work presents an alternative plan for an integrated system that simultaneously remediates contaminated environments and generates electricity using a Cu/CuO electrode as a photocatalyst. The materials were prepared from reagents and accessible metals, which reduced costs and contributed to a clean process, without using organic additives. The results showed that the generation of current in an area 6.9 cm² was 193.37 μA for potassium hydrogen phthalate degradation. The Aminol 806® and Connect® pesticides were degraded by 54.46 and 21.02%, respectively, after 90 min in the system, under ultraviolet radiation. The results showed that, at pH 2.0, the generation of current was 2493.2 mA (36.165 mA m⁻²) for Aminol 806® and 7.894 mA (0.114 mA m⁻²) for Connect®. The degradation of organic contaminants and simultaneous power generation of energy in the integrated system provides a self-sustaining form of environmental remediation and energy recovery, and its use is possible on a large scale.
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