Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the photodegradation of organic pollutants in natural environment with co-existence of iron oxides and oxalic acid. Methylene Blue (MB) was selected as a model pollutant while Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was selected as iron oxide. Commercial Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was calcined at 300°C, 400°C and 500°C and was used to degrade MB in oxalate solutions of different concentration under UV radiation. Adsorption of MB on the surface of calcined Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was studied and 30 minutes was required to reach the adsorption equilibrium. The effect of the initial concentration of oxalic acid, initial concentration of MB and calcined temperature of Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> on photodegradation of MB in the Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>–oxalate suspension under UV light irradiation was investigated. Oxalic acid plays a very important role, no significant degradation of MB was found in absence of oxalic acid in the suspension. But excess concentration of oxalic acid decreases the degradation. Photodegradation of MB increases with increasing calcined temperature of Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and decreases with increase in MB concentration. Since this process does not require the addition of hydrogen peroxide and shows good efficiency under UV irradiation, it is an economically viable method for pre-treating wastewater containing dye.
Highlights
Industrial wastewater contains dyes and other organic pollutants
To examine the adsorption of Methylene Blue (MB) on Fe2O3 surface and to determine the time required to reach the adsorption equilibrium an experiment was performed by stirring MB solution in 0.5g/L of Fe2O3 suspension in absence of any light source
Shiva et al found that adsorption of the MB to magneticmodified Fe3O4 nanoparticles reached equilibrium after 25 min [25]
Summary
Industrial wastewater contains dyes and other organic pollutants. The increasing diversity of manufactured products increases the complexity of wastewater the dye house wastewater. Dye house wastewater usually contains about 10-50 mg/L of dyes [1] which is high enough concentration to induce a remarkable coloring of the receiving water bodies where they are discharged. Methylene Blue is very common among many azo dyes used in textile industries. Methylene blue [3,9-bis dimethyl-aminophenazothionium chloride] is a cationic dye containing a heterocyclic aromatic ring. It is a well-known animal mutagen and highly toxic through oral and intravenous routes. Dryness of mouth, flushed skin, rapid pulse, blurred vision, dizziness etc. Could be the consequences of inhalation of methylene blue Dryness of mouth, flushed skin, rapid pulse, blurred vision, dizziness etc. could be the consequences of inhalation of methylene blue
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