US 12486181 B1Patent grantUnited States

Calcium-Vanadate Photocatalyst for Water Cleanup

Official patent title

Method of photocatalytic degradation of a pollutant using nanocomposite

Arabic title: طريقة التحلل الضوئي التحفيزي لملوث باستخدام مركب نانوي

Invention

Problem

Persistent aqueous pollutants may resist conventional treatment, while photocatalysts can be constrained by limited light response, charge recombination, and difficult material recovery.

Why it matters

A visible-light-responsive composite could broaden laboratory options for pollutant degradation, but useful treatment requires verified removal, mineralization, byproduct safety, durability, and leaching control.

Approach

The method contacts a pollutant solution with a CaV2O6/CaSiO3/g-C3N4 nanocomposite and irradiates the mixture, using the composite's stated absorption and bandgap properties to promote photocatalytic degradation.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include photocatalysis researchers, water-treatment laboratories, environmental-remediation teams, specialty catalyst producers, and advanced-oxidation process developers.

Potential value

The disclosure integrates calcium vanadate, calcium silicate, and graphitic carbon nitride with specified phase fractions, morphology, pore ranges, optical response, and a multistep synthesis route.

Background

Photocatalysis can transform water pollutants using light-generated charge carriers, but practical efficiency depends on spectral absorption, charge separation, accessible surface sites, and catalyst stability. Graphitic carbon nitride is presented as a visible-light-active semiconductor whose performance can be modified by inorganic phases. The publication combines it with calcium silicate and calcium vanadate and supplies structural, pore, and optical characterization. It does not report a pollutant identity, degradation percentage, rate constant, total-organic-carbon mineralization, transformation products, reuse cycles, vanadium leaching, or real-water performance.

Technology overview

The composite contains 20–40 wt. % each of CaV2O6, CaSiO3, and g-C3N4 and includes nanosheets with distributed nanowires. Reported interplanar spacing is 0.12–0.25 nm, pore diameter is 2–20 nm, pore volume is 0.1–0.3 cm3g−1, and BET surface area is stated as 55 to 60 cm2g−1. The bandgap is 2.9–3 eV, including a stated 2.92 eV value, with absorption at 200–500 nm and 600–800 nm. Irradiation ranges include 50–1000 nm and 200–800 nm.

Potential applications

Laboratory photocatalytic degradation screening for aqueous pollutants.
Visible-light catalyst structure-property research.
Advanced-oxidation process development for water treatment.
Comparative evaluation of calcium-vanadate composite photocatalysts.

Evidence-supported advantages

Three identified phases are combined in one photocatalyst.
The disclosure specifies nanosheet and nanowire morphology.
Pore and optical-property ranges are provided.
Multiple structural and spectroscopic characterization methods are described.

Development stage

Laboratory synthesis and structural, pore, and optical characterization are described; pollutant-specific degradation, mineralization, reuse, leaching, real-water validation, scale-up, and commercial operation were not established.

Commercial opportunity

The material may support research partnerships in photocatalytic water treatment, but no application performance is established. Independent studies must identify target pollutants and quantify kinetics, mineralization, byproducts, quantum or energy efficiency, catalyst recovery, reuse, vanadium leaching, toxicity, real-water interference, scale-up, and cost before a treatment proposition can be assessed.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

C02F1/30Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
B01J20/10Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus

CPC

B01J37/342Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C02F1/30Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
B01J20/10Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J23/02Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J23/22Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J27/24Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/39Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/612Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/633Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/647Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J37/343Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C02F1/725Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2305/08Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2305/10Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
Y02W10/37Climate-change mitigation technologies related to wastewater treatment or waste management

Inventors

First inventorMohamed Khairy Abdel Fattah Omran
InventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair

Keywords

calcium vanadate
calcium silicate
graphitic carbon nitride
photocatalysis
pollutant degradation
visible light
bandgap
advanced oxidation

Patent document and drawings

The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.