Photo-fenton process: Optimization and decolourization and mineralization of reactive blue 222 dye

Dye house effluents of textile industries leads to severe environmental problems when disposed to aquatic bodies without proper treatment. This work was carried out to optimize the Photo-Fenton process for decolorization and mineralization of a commercial textile dye, Reactive Blue 222. The effect of different process parameters on decolorization efficiency of Photo-Fenton process was investigated. The optimal conditions for process were observed as; pH level 3.5, H2O2 concentration 1× 10-2M, FeSO4 concentration 3.5 × 10-5 mol L-1, temperature 50 C and process time 50 min. The maximum 95% dye decolorization was achieved along with a significant (P< 0.05) reduction of chemical oxygen demand and total organic. The degradation products were characterized by UV–visible and FTIR spectral techniques. The results provide evidence that Photo-Fenton process was able to oxidize and mineralize the selected azo dye into non-toxic metabolites.