Exploring Cu-doped graphitic carbon nitride for treatment of dye pollutants in textile wastewater: Benefits and limitations

Abstract

This study introduces an innovative method utilizing Cu-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Cu-GCN) photocatalyst for the effective removal of dye pollutants such as methylene blue (D-MB) and Rhodamine B (D-RhB) from textile industry wastewater. The findings demonstrate that Cu-GCN achieves impressive degradation efficiency of 86.9 and 75.1 % for D-MB and D-RhB, respectively. Notably, the decomposition rate constants (k) exhibit an inverse relationship with pollutant concentrations. Specifically, the k value of D-MB and D-RhB using Cu-GCN increased from 0.010 to 0.023 min−1 and 0.009 to 0.022 min−1, respectively, with decreasing concentrations from 100 to 5 mg L−1. Besides, the decomposition efficiency of D-MB and D-RhB by Cu-GCN shows enhancements of 15.2 and 13.5 %, respectively, with a rise in solution pH from 5.0 to 9.0. Within 60 min of reaction time, Cu-GCN exhibits good decomposition efficiency of 69.1 % for D-MB and 55.3 % for D-RhB in textile wastewater samples. We also explore the comparative advantages and limitations of utilizing the photocatalysis process for the degradation of D-MB and D-RhB. This work offers valuable insights into the potential of Cu-GCN as a promising photocatalyst that can be further developed for effectively removing various pollutants from textile wastewater.