HETEROGENEOUS ELECTRO FENTON PROCESS FOR TEXTILE WASTEWATER TREATMENT: APPLICATION OF Fe3O4-Mn3O4 AS A CATALYST

Abstract

To produce quality textile products, many stable synthetic dyes are invented. However, textile wastewater discharged into the environment contains a large amount of dyes which are bio-recalcitrants and stable to heat and solar radiation. These toxic contaminants impact negatively the environment for a long time and poison plants, animals, and human. In this study, Heterogeneous Electro Fenton process with Fe3O4-Mn3O4 as a catalyst was used for textile wastewater treatment. Graphite electrodes were chosen for their stability and good conductivity. Three operating factors greatly affected the removal efficiency are current density, pH and catalyst dosage. Response surface methodology was applied to find empirical mathematical models for these factors, then find an accordant operating condition for treatment which provides high removal efficiency and low operating cost. Investigated ranges scaled in previous studies were: current density (10 – 20 mA/cm2), pH (3 – 5), and catalyst dosage (0.5 – 1.5 g/l). At current density of 17.03 mA/cm2, pH of 3.77, catalyst dosage of 1.17 g/l, the treatment reached its optimum condition, COD and Color removal efficiencies were 93.3 % and 99.2 %, respectively, where COD and Color values in the effluent are 56 mg/l and 16 Pt-Co.