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Vol. 38 No. 5 (2026): Vol 38, Issue 5, 2026

Copyright (c) 2026 AMol Bhosale, Netaji Mali, Shaila Dhotre, Shrikant Takle, Aarti Ware, Ravindra Mene, Namdeo Bhujbal

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Heterogenous Photocatalytic Degradation of Sugarcane Distillery Spent Wash by using Mesoporous Zn-TiO2 Catalyst

https://doi.org/10.14233/ajchem.2026.35505
Amol S. Bhosale
Department of Chemistry, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1383-6383
Netaji P. Mali
Department of Chemistry, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3018-8030
Shaila B. Dhotre
Department of Chemistry, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3026-5181
Shrikant P. Takle
Department of Chemistry, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2966-6175
Aarti S. Ware
MAEER’s MIT Saint Dnyaneshwar College, Pune-412105, India
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8563-7198
Ravindra U. Mene
Department of Physics, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1248-4092
Namdeo N. Bhujbal
Department of Chemistry, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune-411028, India
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5778-1932

Corresponding Author(s) : Amol S. Bhosale

amolbhosale4141@gmail.com

Asian Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 38 No. 5 (2026): Vol 38, Issue 5, 2026

Abstract

Sugarcane distillery spent wash is a highly coloured wastewater that requires efficient treatment. In this study, Zn-doped TiO2 (1-5 wt.%) photocatalysts were synthesized by a sol-gel method and applied for sunlight-driven degradation of spent wash. XRD confirmed phase-pure anatase TiO2, while the absence of ZnO peaks indicated successful Zn2+ incorporation into the TiO2 lattice. FE-SEM, HR-TEM and elemental mapping revealed nanosized particles with uniform Zn distribution. Among all samples, 4% Zn-TiO2 showed the highest surface area (116 m2 g–1) compared with undoped TiO2 (80 m2 g–1). UV-DRS analysis showed band-gap reduction from 3.09 eV to 2.93 eV, while photoluminescence studies indicated suppressed electron-hole recombination. Under natural sunlight, 4% Zn-TiO2 exhibited the best photocatalytic performance, achieving 78% colour removal within 6 h, compared with 62% for pure TiO2. The degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with the highest rate constant (0.00506 min–1). The optimized catalyst also achieved 72% COD and 65% TOC removal, confirming effective mineralisation of pollutants. After four reuse cycles, the catalyst retained over 73% activity, demonstrating good stability. The enhanced performance of 4% Zn-TiO2 is attributed to higher surface area, reduced band gap, improved charge separation and stable anatase structure, making it a promising reusable photocatalyst for sustainable distillery wastewater treatment.

Keywords

Spent wash Photocatalysis Sugar industry wastewater Zn doped TiO2
(1)
Bhosale, A. S.; Mali, N. P.; Dhotre, S. B.; Takle, S. P.; Ware, A. S.; Mene, R. U.; Bhujbal, N. N. Heterogenous Photocatalytic Degradation of Sugarcane Distillery Spent Wash by Using Mesoporous Zn-TiO2 Catalyst. ajc 2026, 38, 1159-1169.
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