Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
1565707 
Journal Article 
Finding the best Fe2+/Cu2+ combination for the solar photoelectro-Fenton treatment of simulated wastewater containing the industrial textile dye Disperse Blue 3 
Salazar, R; Brillas, E; Sires, I 
2012 
Yes 
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
ISSN: 0926-3373 
Elsevier B.V., P.O. Box 211 Amsterdam 1000 AE Netherlands 
115 
107-116 
English 
WOS:000302429600014 
The performance of the solar photoelectro-Fenton (SPEF)
process with Fe2+ and Cu2+ as metal co-catalysts and its application to the treatment of
solutions simulating Disperse Blue 3 (DB3) dye bath effluents of a Chilean textile company are
reported in this paper. The trials were carried out with 2.51 solutions using a solar pre-pilot
plant containing an electrochemical reactor with a 20 cm(2) BDD anode and air-diffusion cathode,
coupled to a 600 ml solar photoreactor. DB3 solutions with 0.1 M Na2SO4 at pH 3.0 were
electrolyzed to assess the effect of the applied current density, catalyst nature and
concentration and dye content on the decolorization rate, dye removal and total organic carbon
(TOC) abatement. The SPEF treatments using 0.5 mM Fe2+ +0.1 mM Cu2+ led to the quickest
degradation kinetics, mainly due to the concomitant action of UV photolysis and the generated
oxidizing hydroxyl radicals on the organic molecules and/or their Cu(II) and Fe(III) complexes.
Based on the identification of up to 15 aromatic by-products by GC-MS, a reaction scheme for DB3
degradation has been proposed. The progressive color and TOC removal of DB3 solutions were due to
various changes undergone by the initial anthraquinonic structure, including the
modification/addition of auxochromes giving 6 anthraquinonic by-products and its cleavage to
yield compounds with 2 aromatic rings due to intermolecular cyclization or 1 aromatic ring mainly
in the form of phthalic acid derivatives. Upon cleavage of these aromatics, maleic, oxalic,
oxamic, pyruvic and acetic acids were formed. NO3- ions were released to a larger extent than
NH4+ ions. The great efficacy of SPEF with Fe2+ and Cu2+ was demonstrated for simulated
wastewater containing DB3 and industrial surfactants and additives at 50 mA cm(-2), allowing
their total decolorization and almost overall mineralization in only 150 and 360 min, with an
energy consumption of 11.0 and 26.4 kWh m(-3), respectively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights
reserved. 
Anthraquinonic dyes; Boron-doped diamond anode; Metal catalysts; Solar photoelectro-Fenton; Wastewater treatment