Comparison of suspension and catalytic-membrane photoreactors efficiency for elimination of the dyes

In the present study, the performance of a batch suspension photoreactor has been investigated and compared with a catalytic-membrane photoreactor (PMR) for removal of Basic Violet 16 (BV16) from synthetic effluent. Initially, influence of the effective parameters on the photocatalytic process in the presence of Zinc oxide doped with calcium (ZnO: Ca) such as photocatalyst dosage, pH, temperature, initial dye concentration and aeration was studied. Based on the results, the optimal condition of the process was: Catalyst dosage (0.06 g.L-1), normal pH (5.5), ambient temperature, Dye concentration: 10 mg.L-1 and Aeration: 5.5 L.min-1, respectively. The results showed that the removal efficiency at the high concentrations decreases in the photocatalytic process. This will reveal the need to integrate a system as pre-treatment of input feed prior to the preparation. In this study, a polyvinylidene fluoride-based membrane (PVDF) was used as a pre-purification agent before the batch rector system. The results of the research and the calculation of process efficiency show that PMR has been successful in removal of BV16 dye in the same concentrations and also more than the optimal dye concentration of suspension system. Comparing the kinetc of the reactions, the constant reaction rate in PMR increased by about 14% in comparison of the batch system at the optimal concentration (60%) and above the optimal concentration (30 mg.L-1).