Degradation of Azo Dyes Ponceau S, S-IV from the Wastewater of Textile Industries in a New Photocatalytic Reactor with High Efficiency Using Recently Developed Photocatalyst MBIRD-11

Abstract

We chose model dyes Ponceau S (P-S) and Sudan IV (S-IV) to test a novel photocatalytic reactor using the newly developed photocatalyst, Methylene Blue Immobilized Resin Dowex-11. This is a light-activated process that has been successfully applied to remove organic and inorganic dye pollutants from the wastewater of textile industries. The reactor, made of glass slides (tubes) coated with a thin-film of Methylene Blue Immobilized Resin Dowex-11, with the help of any suitable and non-reactive adhesive, the model dyes solution continues to recycle from the reactor for 3 h in a recirculation mode under various conditions (with/without catalyst, with/without light radiation, variation in catalyst amount, dyes concentration, light intensities, and pH). The P-S,S-IV removal efficiency was evaluated using a UV/visible spectrophotometer at λ λmax = 514 nm ± 2 nm P-S and S-IV λmax = 520 nm, respectively. Removal efficiency results (99%) after 3 h at pH 9 show that new photoreactor Methylene Blue Immobilized Resin Dowex-11 photocatalysis provides a promising technology to improve the quality of effluent from textile wastewater treatment plants.