Efficiency of Fenton Oxidation in Rodamine B Removal from Synthetic Solutions

Environmental and health hazards are regarded among the problems associated with the disposal of raw or undertreated wastewaters containing reactive dyes discharged into the environment, and especially into receiving waters. Conventional treatment methods lack the desirable efficiency in removing these compounds. For this type of wastewater, researchers, therefore, recommend methods, collectively called "advanced oxidation processes" such as the Fenton process, that are capable of removing toxic and non-biodegradable compounds. This experimental-intervention study was carried out on the laboratory scale to investigate the Rodamine B and COD removal efficiency of the Fenton oxidation process. The effects of such parameters as H2O2, Fe2+, and reaction time were investigated using a 1-L batch reactor. The results revealed that the process achieved a decolorization efficiency of 58% and a COD removal of 48% after 60 min of reaction time when the initial concentrations of Rodamine B, COD, Fe2+, and H2O2 in the influent were 100 mg/L, 270 mg/L, 40 mg/L, and 200 mg/L, respectively, at a constant pH level of 3.