Degradation Efficiency and Kinetics Analysis of an Advanced Oxidation Process Utilizing Ozone, Hydrogen Peroxide and Persulfate to Degrade the Dye Rhodamine B

• Main Authors: Piotr Zawadzki, Małgorzata Deska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Catalysts
• Subjects: rhodamine B; dye; advanced oxidation process; radicals; kinetics
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/11/8/974

In this study, the effectiveness of a rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation process at a concentration of 20 mg/L in different advanced oxidation processes—H₂O₂/UV, O₃/UV and PDS/UV—has been studied. The use of UV in a photo-assisted ozonation process (O₃/UV) proved to be the most effective method of RhB decolorization (90% after 30 min at dye concentration of 100 mg/L). The addition of sulfate radical precursors (sodium persulfate, PDS) to the reaction environment did not give satisfactory effects (17% after 30 min), compared to the PDS/UV system (70% after 30 min). No rhodamine B decolorization was observed using hydrogen peroxide as a sole reagent, whereas an effect on the degree of RhB degradation was observed when UV rays strike the sample with H₂O₂ (33% after 30 min). The rhodamine B degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The combined PDS/O₃/UV process has shown 60% color removal after 30 min of reaction time at an initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L. A similar effectiveness was obtained by only applying ozone or UV-activated persulfate, but at a concentration 2–5 times lower (20 mg/L). The results indicated that the combined PDS/O₃/UV process is a promising method for high RhB concentrations (50–100 mg/L) comparing to other alternative advanced oxidation processes.