Solar photocatalytic disinfection of well water using immobilized TiO2: A comparative field study with SODIS in Antananarivo
Abstract
Access to safe drinking water remains a major challenge in rural areas of developing countries. This study investigates the feasibility of a simple, low-cost solar photocatalytic reactor coated with a commercial titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment for the disinfection of well water contaminated with fecal coliforms. A TiO2 film was deposited on a glass plate using a straightforward acetone slurry method and exposed to natural sunlight in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The efficiency was compared with the conventional SODIS method (solar disinfection without catalyst). Water samples from ten different wells were characterized for physicochemical and bacteriological quality. After 10 minutes of solar exposure, the photocatalytic reactor reduced presumptive fecal coliform counts below the method detection limit (<1~CFU/100~mL) in all ten samples tested, whereas the SODIS control reduced the initial count by approximately 51\% in a representative sample. While disinfection kinetics varied slightly with water turbidity and pH, inactivation below the detection limit was consistently achieved. Pearson correlation analysis showed no statistically significant linear correlation between the inactivation rate constant and any measured water-quality parameter (all p > 0.4). The results demonstrate that even a non-uniform, low-purity TiO2 coating significantly accelerates bacterial inactivation under solar radiation, offering a promising and affordable household-scale treatment technology for low-resource settings. However, longer-term validation, catalyst stability, dark-control assessment, and leaching studies are still required before widespread implementation can be recommended.
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BibTeX
@misc{andrianirina2026solar,
title = {{Solar photocatalytic disinfection of well water using immobilized TiO$_2$: A comparative field study with SODIS in Antananarivo}},
author = {Jean Odilon Andrianirina and Philippe Manjakasoa Randriantsoa and Georgette Ramanantsizehena and Domohina Raharinirina and Malik Maaza},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.04089},
eprint = {2605.04089},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04089},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Solar photocatalytic disinfection of well water using immobilized TiO_2: A comparative field study with SODIS in Antananarivo
AU - Jean Odilon Andrianirina
AU - Philippe Manjakasoa Randriantsoa
AU - Georgette Ramanantsizehena
AU - Domohina Raharinirina
AU - Malik Maaza
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.04089
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04089
AB - Access to safe drinking water remains a major challenge in rural areas of developing countries. This study investigates the feasibility of a simple, low-cost solar photocatalytic reactor coated with a commercial titanium dioxide (TiO_2) pigment for the disinfection of well water contaminated with fecal coliforms. A TiO_2 film was deposited on a glass plate using a straightforward acetone slurry method and exposed to natural sunlight in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The efficiency was compared with the conventional SODIS method (solar disinfection without catalyst). Water samples from ten different wells were characterized for physicochemical and bacteriological quality. After 10 minutes of solar exposure, the photocatalytic reactor reduced presumptive fecal coliform counts below the method detection limit (<1~CFU/100~mL) in all ten samples tested, whereas the SODIS control reduced the initial count by approximately 51\% in a representative sample. While disinfection kinetics varied slightly with water turbidity and pH, inactivation below the detection limit was consistently achieved. Pearson correlation analysis showed no statistically significant linear correlation between the inactivation rate constant and any measured water-quality parameter (all p > 0.4). The results demonstrate that even a non-uniform, low-purity TiO_2 coating significantly accelerates bacterial inactivation under solar radiation, offering a promising and affordable household-scale treatment technology for low-resource settings. However, longer-term validation, catalyst stability, dark-control assessment, and leaching studies are still required before widespread implementation can be recommended.
ER -