The photo-oxidative destruction of C.I. Basic Yellow 2 using UV/S(2)O(8)(2-) process in an annular photoreactor.

The photo-oxidative decolorization of C. I. Basic Yellow 2 (BY2), was investigated using UV radiation in the presence of peroxydisulfate (S(2)O(8)(2-)) in an annular photoreactor at different conditions. S(2)O(8)(2-) and UV-light showed negligible effect when they were used independently. Removal efficiency of BY2 was sensitive to the operational parameters such as initial concentrations of S(2)O(8)(2-), BY2 and pH. The conversion ratios of BY2 at the volumetric flow rates of 330, 500 and 650 mLmin(- 1) were 84%, 78%, 69% in 1 h, respectively. The results showed that in the presence of S(2)O(8)(2-), the photooxidation quantum yield obtained higher than direct photolysis quantum yield, suggesting that photodecay of BY2 was dominated by photooxidation. The electrical energy per order (EE/O) values for decolorization of BY2 solution was calculated. Results show that applying an optimum peroxydisulfate concentration can reduce the EE/O.

Decolorization of C.I. Acid Yellow 23 solution by electrocoagulation process: investigation of operational parameters and evaluation of specific electrical energy consumption (SEEC).

This study investigates the evaluation of specific electrical energy consumption (SEEC) and the influence of operating parameters on the color removal efficiency of a dye solution containing C.I. Acid Yellow 23 by electrocoagulation process. Firstly, the operational parameters including current density, initial dye concentration, initial pH and time of electrolysis were optimized. Then the effects of the conductivity, the interelectrode distance and the area of cross-section of the electrodes on specific electrical energy consumption (SEEC) were studied under the optimum conditions. Our results indicated that for a solution of 50mg/l C.I. Acid Yellow 23, almost 98% color and 69% chemical oxygen demand (COD) were removed, when the pH was about 6, the time of electrolysis was 5min and the current density was approximately 112.5A/m(2). In addition, the results of our study revealed that when the conductivity and area of cross-section of the electrodes increased and interelectrode distance decreased, the cell voltage and specific electrical energy consumption would be decreased.

Photocatalytic degradation of C.I. Acid Red 27 by immobilized ZnO on glass plates in continuous-mode.

The photocatalytic degradation of C.I. Acid Red 27 (AR27), an anionic monoazo dye of acid class, in aqueous solutions was investigated with immobilized ZnO catalyst on glass plates in a continuous-mode. In the slurry ZnO system the separation and recycling of the photocatalyst is practically difficult. Thus, ZnO was immobilized on solid supports to solve this problem. The removal percent increases with increasing the photoreactor volume and light intensity but it decreases when the flow rate is increased. With decreasing flow rate from 43 to 15mlmin(-1), the complete decolorization and degradation was obtained at around 748 and 1080cm(3) from photoreactor volume. The increase in the light intensity from 21.4 to 58.5Wm(-2) increases the decolorization from 23 to 57.6% and degradation from 17.5 to 37.8% for 374cm(3) of photoreactor volume. NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-), NO(2)(-) and SO(4)(2-) ions were analyzed as mineralization products of nitrogen and sulfur heteroatoms. Results showed that final concentration of SO(4)(2-) ions and N-containing mineralization products were less than the finally expected stoichiometric values. The positive slope of production of NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-) and NO(2)(-) shows that these compounds are initial products resulting directly from the initial attack on the nitrogen-to-nitrogen double bond (-NN-) of the azo dye.

Biological decolorization of dye solution containing Malachite Green by microalgae Cosmarium sp.

The potential of Cosmarium species, belonging to green algae, was investigated as a viable biomaterial for biological treatment of triphenylmethane dye, Malachite Green (MG). The results obtained from the batch experiments revealed the ability of algal species in removing dye. The effects of operational parameters (temperature, pH, dye concentration and algal concentration) on decolorization were examined. Optimal initial pH was determined 9. The stability and efficiency of the algae in long-term repetitive operations were also examined. Michaelis-Menten kinetics was used to describe the apparent correlation between the decolorization rate and the dye concentration. The optimal kinetic parameters, nu(max) and K(m) are 7.63 mg dye g cell(-1)h(-1) and 164.57 ppm, respectively. All assays were conducted in triplicates.

Photooxidative degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in UV/H2O2 process: influence of operational parameters and reaction mechanism.

The photooxidative degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was studied in the UV/H2O2 process. The effects of applied H2O2 dose, initial 4-NP concentration and UV light intensity have been studied. Degradation was complete in 13 min and follows apparent first-order kinetics. The removal efficiency of 4-NP depends on the operational parameters and increases as the initial concentration of H2O2 and light intensity are increased but it decreases when the initial concentration of 4-NP is increased. From HPLC analysis, major intermediate products were hydroxyl derivatives of 4-NP as a result of photooxidative hydroxylation.

Removal of C.I. Acid Orange 7 from aqueous solution by UV irradiation in the presence of ZnO nanopowder.

The removal of C.I. Acid Orange 7 (AO7) from aqueous solution under UV irradiation in the presence of ZnO nanopowder has been studied. The average crystallite size of ZnO powder was determined from XRD pattern using the Scherrer equation in the range of 33 nm. The experiments showed that ZnO nanopowder and UV light had a negligible effect when they were used on their own. The effects of some operational parameters such as pH, the amount of ZnO nanopowder and initial dye concentration were also examined. The photodegradation of AO7 was enhanced by the addition of proper amount of hydrogen peroxide, but it was inhibited by ethanol. From the inhibitive effect of ethanol, it was deducted that hydroxyl radicals played a significant role in the photodegradation of the dye. The kinetic of the removal of AO7 can be explained in terms of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The values of the adsorption equilibrium constant, K(AO7), and the kinetic rate constant of surface reaction, k(c), were 0.354(mg l(-1))(-1) and 1.99 mg l(-1)min(-1), respectively. The electrical energy consumption per order of magnitude for photocatalytic degradation of AO7 was lower in the UV/ZnO/H(2)O(2) process than that in the UV/ZnO process. Accordingly, it could be stated that the complete removal of color, after selecting desired operational parameters could be achieved in a relatively short time, about 60 min.

Biodegradation of dye solution containing Malachite Green: optimization of effective parameters using Taguchi method.

In this paper, optimization of biological decolorization of synthetic dye solution containing Malachite Green was investigated. The effect of temperature, initial pH of the solution, type of algae, dye concentration and time of the reaction was studied and optimized using Taguchi method. Sixteen experiments were required to study the effect of parameters on biodegradation of the dye. Each of experiments was repeated three times to calculate signal/noise (S/N). Our results showed that initial pH of the solution was the most effective parameter in comparison with others and the basic pH was favorable. In this study, we also optimized the experimental parameters and chose the best condition by determination effective factors. Based on the S/N ratio, the optimized conditions for dye removal were temperature 25 degrees C, initial pH 10, dye concentration 5 ppm, algae type Chlorella and time 2.5h. The stability and efficiency of Chlorella sp. in long-term repetitive operations were also examined.

Study of imidaclopride removal from aqueous solution by adsorption onto granular activated carbon using an on-line spectrophotometric analysis system.

The removal of imidaclopride as a pesticide by granular activated carbon (GAC) and its adsorption kinetics were studied at different pH values and temperatures. In all experiments, the amount of GAC and initial concentration of imidaclopride were 2g and 25 ppm, respectively. The adsorption process was followed by an on-line spectrophotometric analysis system, which consisted of UV-spectrophotometer, a designed absorption cell, peristaltic pump and special glassy reactor. The effect of pH and temperature on adsorption was studied over 90 min adsorption periods. The obtained data were treated according to various kinetic models. The results showed that second order model was the most suitable one on the overall. The our results also showed that the adsorption rate constants for first order, second order and intraparticle diffusion models followed decreasing order: pH=7>4>10>1, T=25>35>45>55 degrees C.

Photocatalytic degradation of the herbicide erioglaucine in the presence of nanosized titanium dioxide: comparison and modeling of reaction kinetics.

The present work mainly deals with photocatalytic degradation of a herbicide, erioglaucine, in water in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles (Degussa P-25) under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination (30 W). The degradation rate of erioglaucine was not so high when the photolysis was carried out in the absence of TiO2 and it was negligible in the absence of UV light. We have studied the influence of the basic photocatalytic parameters such as pH of the solution, amount of TiO2, irradiation time and initial concentration of erioglaucine on the photodegradation efficiency of erioglaucine. A kinetic model is applied for the photocatalytic oxidation by the UV/TiO2 system. Experimental results indicated that the photocatalytic degradation process could be explained in terms of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model. The values of the adsorption equilibrium constant, K, and the second order kinetic rate constant, k, were 0.116 ppm-1 and 0.984 ppm min-1, respectively. In this work, we also compared the reactivity between the commercial TiO2 Degussa P-25 and a rutile TiO2. The photocatalytic activities of both photocatalysts were tested using the herbicide solution. We have noticed that photodegradation efficiency was different between both of them. The higher photoactivity of Degussa P-25 compared to that of rutile TiO2 for the photodegradation of erioglaucine may be due to higher hydroxyl content, higher surface area, nano-size and crystallinity of the Degussa P-25. Our results also showed that the UV/TiO2 process with Degussa P-25 as photocatalyst was appropriate as the effective treatment method for removal of erioglaucine from a real wastewater. The electrical energy consumption per order of magnitude for photocatalytic degradation of erioglaucine was lower with Degussa P-25 than in the presence of rutile TiO2.

The use of artificial neural networks (ANN) for modeling of decolorization of textile dye solution containing C. I. Basic Yellow 28 by electrocoagulation process.

In this paper, electrocoagulation has been used for removal of color from solution containing C. I. Basic Yellow 28. The effect of operational parameters such as current density, initial pH of the solution, time of electrolysis, initial dye concentration, distance between the electrodes, retention time and solution conductivity were studied in an attempt to reach higher removal efficiency. Our results showed that the increase of current density up to 80 Am(-2) enhanced the color removal efficiency, the electrolysis time was 7 min and the range of pH was determined 5-8. It was found that for achieving a high color removal percent, the conductivity of the solution and the initial concentration of dye should be 10 mS cm(-1) and 50 mg l(-1), respectively. An artificial neural networks (ANN) model was developed to predict the performance of decolorization efficiency by EC process based on experimental data obtained in a laboratory batch reactor. A comparison between the predicted results of the designed ANN model and experimental data was also conducted. The model can describe the color removal percent under different conditions.

Removal of azo dye C.I. acid red 14 from contaminated water using Fenton, UV/H(2)O(2), UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(II), UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(III) and UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(III)/oxalate processes: a comparative study.

The decolorization of the solution containing a common textile and leather dye, C.I. Acid Red 14 (AR14), at pH 3 by hydrogen peroxide photolysis, Fenton, Fenton-like and photo-Fenton processes was studied. The dark and light reactions were carried out in stirred batch photoreactor equipped with an UV-C lamp (30 W) as UV light source. The experiments showed that the dye was resistant to the UV illumination, but was oxidized when one of Fe(II), Fe(III) and H(2)O(2) compounds was present. It was also found that UV light irradiation can accelerate significantly the rate of AR14 decolorization in the presence of Fe(III)/H(2)O(2) or Fe(II)/H(2)O(2), comparing to that in the dark. The effect of different system variables like initial concentration of the azo dye, effect of UV light irradiation, initial concentration of Fe(II) or Fe(III) and added oxalate ion has been investigated. The results showed that the decolorization efficiency of AR14 at the reaction time of 2 min follows the decreasing order: UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(III)/oxalate > UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(III) > UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(II) > UV/H(2)O(2). Our results also showed that the UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(III)/oxalate process was appropriate as the effective treatment method for decolorization of a real dyeing and finishing. The mechanism for each process is also discussed and linked together for understanding the observed differences in reactivity.

Decolorization of basic dye solutions by electrocoagulation: an investigation of the effect of operational parameters.

Electrocoagulation (EC) is one of the most effective techniques to remove color and organic pollutants from wastewater, which reduces the sludge generation. In this paper, electrocoagulation has been used for the removal of color from solutions containing C. I. Basic Red 46 (BR46) and C. I. Basic Blue 3 (BB3). These dyes are used in the wool and blanket factories for fiber dyeing. The effect of operational parameters such as current density, initial pH of the solution, time of electrolysis, initial dye concentration and solution conductivity were studied in an attempt to reach higher removal efficiency. The findings in this study shows that an increase in the current density up to 60-80 A m(-2) enhanced the color removal efficiency, the electrolysis time was 5 min and the range of pH was determined between 5.5 and 8.5 for two mentioned dye solutions. It was found that for, the initial concentration of dye in solutions should not be higher than 80 mg l(-1) in order to achieve a high color removal percentage. The optimum conductivity was found to be 8 mS cm(-1), which was adjusted using proper amount of NaCl with the dye concentration of 50 mg l(-1). Electrical energy consumption in the above conditions for the decolorization of the dye solutions containing BR46 and BB3 were 4.70 kWh(kgdye removed)(-1) and 7.57 kWh(kgdye removed)(-1), respectively. Also, during the EC process under the optimized conditions, the COD decreased by more than 75% and 99% in dye solutions containing BB3 and BR46, respectively.

Immobilization of TiO2 nanopowder on glass beads for the photocatalytic decolorization of an azo dye C.I. Direct Red 23.

TiO2 supported on glass beads was prepared and its photocatalytic activity was determined by photooxidation of the commercial textile dye, C.I. Direct Red 23, in aqueous solution illuminated by a UV-C lamp (30 W). The progress of photocatalytic decolorization of the C.I. Direct Red 23 was studied by measuring the absorbance at lambda(max) = 507 nm by UV Vis spectrophotometer. The experiments indicated that both UV light and TiO2 were needed for the effective destruction of the dye. The effect of pH on the rate of decolorization efficiency was followed in the pH range 2-12. Acidic pH range was found to favor the decolorization rate. The addition of a proper amount of hydrogen peroxide improved the decolorization, whereas the excess hydrogen peroxide quenched the formation of hydroxyl radicals (*OH). The electrical energy consumption per order of magnitude for photocatalytic decolorization of the dye was lower in the UV/TiO2/H2O2 process than that in the UV/TiO2 process. In the real wastewater sample the efficiency of the method was determined by measuring the changes in the absorption spectra of the dye solution during photodegradation. Our results indicated that during the photooxidation process, the decolorization efficiency was more than 80% at irradiation time of 3 h.

Application of artificial neural networks for modeling of the treatment of wastewater contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by UV/H2O2 process.

During the last two decades, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely used as an additive to gasoline (up to 15%) both to increase the octane number and as a fuel oxygenate to improve air quality by reducing the level of carbon monoxide in vehicle exhausts. The present work mainly deals with photooxidative degradation of MTBE in the presence of H2O2 under UV light illumination (30W). We studied the influence of the basic operational parameters such as initial concentration of H2O2 and irradiation time on the photodegradation of MTBE. The oxidation rate of MTBE was low when the photolysis was carried out in the absence of H2O2 and it was negligible in the absence of UV light. The addition of proper amount of hydrogen peroxide improved the degradation, while the excess hydrogen peroxide could quench the formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH). The semi-log plot of MTBE concentration versus time was linear, suggesting a first order reaction. Therefore, the treatment efficiency was evaluated by figure-of-merit electrical energy per order (E(Eo)). Our results showed that MTBE could be treated easily and effectively with the UV/H2O2 process with E(Eo) value 80 kWh/m3/order. The proposed model based on artificial neural network (ANN) could predict the MTBE concentration during irradiation time in optimized conditions. A comparison between the predicted results of the designed ANN model and experimental data was also conducted.

The evaluation of electrical energy per order (E(Eo)) for photooxidative decolorization of four textile dye solutions by the kinetic model.

Photooxidative decolorization of four textile dyestuffs, C.I. Acid Orange 7 (AO7), C.I. Acid Orange 8 (AO8), C.I. Acid Orange 52 (AO52) and C.I. Acid Blue 74 (AB74), by UV/H2O2 was investigated in a laboratory scale photoreactor equipped with a 15 W low pressure mercury vapour lamp. The decolorization of the dyes was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics, and hence the figure-of-merit electrical energy per order (E(Eo)) is appropriate for estimating the electrical energy efficiency. The E(Eo) values were found to depend on the concentration of H2O2, concentration and basic structure of the dye. This study shows that these textile dyes can be treated easily and effectively with the UV/H2O2 process with E(Eo) values between 0.4 and 5 kW h m-3 order-1, depending on the initial concentrations of dyes and H2O2. The kinetic model, based on the initial rates of degradation, provided good prediction of the E(Eo) values for a variety of conditions.

Photooxidative degradation of Acid Red 27 in a tubular continuous-flow photoreactor: influence of operational parameters and mineralization products.

The decolorization and mineralization of Acid Red 27 (AR27), an anionic monoazo dye of acid class, was investigated using UV radiation in the presence of H2O2 in a tubular continuous-flow photoreactor as a function of oxidant concentration, reactor length, flow rate and light intensity. The removal efficiency of AR27 depends on the operational parameters and increases as the initial concentration of H2O2 and light intensity are increased but it decreases when the flow rate is increased. The AR27 degradation was followed through HPLC, UV-vis and COD analyses. The results of these analyses showed that the final outlet stream from the photoreactor was completely mineralized. The UV/H2O2 process was also able to mineralize nitrogen and sulfur heteroatoms into NH4+, NO3-, NO2- and SO4(2-) ions, respectively. The nitrogen of azo group was transformed predominantly to NH4+ ions. Decreasing the flow rate results in the reduction of COD and promotion of SO4(2-) at the final outlet stream of the photoreactor.

Decolorization of dye solution containing Acid Red 14 by electrocoagulation with a comparative investigation of different electrode connections.

This study was performed to investigate the variables that influence the efficiency of decolorization of a solution containing an azo dye (Acid Red 14) by electrocoagulation (EC) in order to compare the efficiency of different electrode connections for color removal. Current density, time of electrolysis, interelectrode distance, and pH of the solution were the variables that most influenced color removal. Initially, a simple electrochemical cell was prepared with an anode and a cathode. Then the effect of each variable was studied separately using synthetic wastewater in a batch mode. The efficiency of the method tested was determined by measurement of color removal and reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). For dye solutions with COD of approximately 30 ppm and dye concentrations less than 150 ppm, high color removal (93%) was obtained when the pH ranged from 6 to 9, time of electrolysis was approximately 4 min, current density was approximately 80 A/m2, the temperature was approximately 300 K, and interelectrode distance was 1 cm. During the EC process under these conditions, the COD decreased by more than 85%. In the second series of experiment, the efficiency of EC cells with monopolar electrodes in series and parallel connections and an EC cell with bipolar electrodes were compared with results using a simple electrochemical cell. The experimental results showed that an EC cell with several electrodes was more effective than a simple electrochemical cell in color removal. The results also showed that an EC cell with monopolar electrodes had a higher color removal efficiency than an EC cell with bipolar electrodes. Furthermore, within an EC cell, the series connection of the monopolar electrodes was more effective for the treatment process than the parallel connection in color removal.

Critical effect of hydrogen peroxide concentration in photochemical oxidative degradation of C.I. Acid Red 27 (AR27).

The photochemical decolorization of C.I. Acid Red 27 (AR27), an anionic monoazo dye, was studied in the UV/H2O2 process by using a batch reactor with a UV-C lamp emitting at 254 nm (30 W). The decolorization rate follows pseudo-first order kinetic with respect to the AR27 concentration. The results indicate that the apparent reaction rate constant in the UV/H2O2 process is a function of H2O2 concentration. In this work, a mathematical relation between the apparent reaction rate constant of the AR27 removal and used H2O2 was established. The applied amount of H2O2 was performed in two forms: (i) the light fraction absorbed by H2O2 in 254 nm, (ii) the initial concentration ratio of H2O2 to AR27. The results obtained from this mathematical model are in good agreement with experimental results.

Photocatalytic degradation of an organophosphorus pesticide phosalone in aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide.

The present work deals with photocatalytic degradation of an organophosphorus pesticide, phosalone, in water in the presence of TiO2 particles under UV light illumination (1000 W). The influence of the basic photocatalytic parameters such as pH of the solution, amount of TiO2, irradiation time, stirring rate, and distance from UV source, on the photodegradation efficiency of phosalone was investigated. The degradation rate of phosalone was not high when the photolysis was carried out in the absence of TiO2 and it was negligible in the absence of UV light. The half-life (DT50) of a 20 ppm aqueous solution of phosalone was 15 min in optimized conditions. The plot of lnC (phosalone) vs. time was linear, suggesting first order reaction (K=0.0532 min(-1)). The half-life time of photomineralization in the concentration range of 7.5-20 ppm was 13.02 min. The efficiency of the method was also determined by measuring the reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). During the mineralization under optimized conditions, COD decreased by more than 45% at irradiation time of 15 min. The photodegradation of phosalone was enhanced by addition of proper amount of hydrogen peroxide (150 ppm).

Chromium adsorption and Cr(VI) reduction to trivalent chromium in aqueous solutions by soya cake.

Chromium as Cr(VI) is a industrially produced pollutant. Hexavalent chromium can be reduced to the trivalent state using various reductive agents or it can be removed from solution by surface-active adsorbents. In this study, both of these methods were evaluated using soya cake. A high efficiency for reduction of Cr(VI) to trivalent chromium was observed at pH < 1. Increasing the temperature, also increased the yield. Experimentally, the optimum time and soya cake mass were 5h and 0.7 g, respectively. In the second treatment method, a high efficiency for adsorption of chromium was also observed at pH < 1. The favorable temperature for adsorption was found to be 20 degrees C. Experimentally, the best time was 1h and with increasing soya cake mass up to 30 g, the adsorption efficiency was increased. Dissolution of LiCl in the experimental solutions, increased the efficiency of adsorption, however, this effect was not observed in the case of KCl. Langmuir isotherm constants, Q and b, for ground soybeans, were found to be 2.8 x 10(-4)mg/mg and 0.623, respectively. Freundlich isotherm constants, K(f) and n, were found to be 1.4 x 10(-4) and 4.99, respectively.