Performance of UV/acetylacetone process for saline dye wastewater treatment: Kinetics and mechanism

Abstract

Futility of traditional advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) in saline wastewater treatment has stimulated the quest for novel “halotolerant” chemical oxidation technology. Acetylacetone (AA) has proven to be a potent photo-activator in the degradation of dyes, but the applicability of UV/AA for saline wastewater treatment needs to be verified. In this study, degradation of crystal violet (CV) was investigated in the UV/AA system in the presence of various concentrations of exogenic Cl- or Br-. The results reveal that degradation, mineralization and even accumulation of adsorbable organic halides (AOX) were not significantly affected by the addition of Cl- or Br-. Rates of CV degradation were enhanced by elevating either AA dosage or solution acidity. An apparent kinetic rate equation was developed as r = -d[CV]/dt = k[CV]a[AA]b = (7.34 × 10-4 mM1-(a+b) min-1) × [CV]a=0.16 [AA]b=0.97. In terms of results of radical quenching experiments, direct electron/energy transfer is considered as the major reaction mechanism, while either singlet oxygen or triplet state (3(AA)*) might be involved. Based on identification of degradation byproducts, a possible degradation pathway of CV in the UV/AA system is proposed.