The purpose of this paper is to report the development of a laboratory -scale
pilot based on the use of TiO2 photocatalytic thin films for degrading organic matter and pollutants from natural water. The photoreactor consists of a channel inclined with a glass plate coated by TiO2 in both faces and fixed at 1 cm from the bottom. The thin film was immobilized on the glass plates by Sputtering technique. The reactor was designed to be able of reproduce the hydraulic conditions of a water treatment plant. In experimental testing of degradation of organic matter with solar irradiation maximum efficiency of 50% was achieved. At optimal conditions it was possible to exceed the efficiencies of a full scale preozonization in a water treatment plant , thus providing a more sustainable process
