Resumen
This research aims to work with photocatalysis as an alternative in the treatment of textile wastewater, because of the unsatisfactory degradation of some dyes by the conventional biological methods. Photocatalytic degradation tests were done in three natural textile effluents, under visible irradiation. The photocatalysts used were: TiO2 and Nb2O5, pure and combined with mechanical mixture (1:1) and impregnation (5% Nb2O5/TiO2). The characterization analysis (TPR, DRS, acidity, FTIR and textural analysis) indicated a synergic effect and differentiated interaction between the oxides and the formation of a new phase in the catalystic Nb2O5-TiO2. Decolorization and mineralization results showed that the color reduction is not directly related to the COD reduction and that the efficiency of the photocatalytic process depends on both, the effluent to be treated and the photocatalyst worked, showing that the use of Nb2O5 and visible irradiation on the photo degradation of the textile effluents is promising.