Optimization and modeling of UV-TiO2 mediated photocatalytic degradation of golden yellow dye through response surface methodology

Abstract

In this article, heterogeneous photocatalysis of golden yellow (GY) dye by Evonik p25 titanium dioxide (PTD) and UV radiations was optimized by using central composite design of response surface methodology. The GY dye photocatalysis was expressed as the function of amount of PTD loading (X1), GY dye initial concentration (X2), and UV irradiance intensity (X3). The optimization of degradation conditions was done by measuring two different responses, that is, color removal (Y1) and chemical oxygen demand removal (Y2). The effect of X1, X2, and X3 were studied in the range 0.5–1.5 g/L, 15–35 W/m2, and 10–30 mg/L, respectively. The quadratic model was suggested for Y1 and Y2. The numerical optimization of results was done via Design Expert software. The predictive results obtained were verified by performing actual experiments. The photodegradation kinetics, total organic carbon disappearance, effect of inorganic salts, and H2O2 concentration on GY dye photodegradation were also studied.