Wet-Oxidation Study of Dye Removal Using MOF-235 under Room Conditions and Optimization Process by Experimental Design

This research seeks to synthesize the metal-organic framework, MOF-235, catalyst and their effectiveness in the wet oxidation of methylene blue removal under room temperature conditions. We used SEM, EDX, TEM, and FT-IR techniques to investigate the structural and physical characteristics of the synthesized catalyst. The results showed that the sample was well synthesized. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is applied to optimize the efficiency of the methylene blue removal process. Four key parameters including pH, temperature, the dosage of catalyst, and contact time are investigated. The contact time data was used to detect the kinetics of the process. The quadratic model was applied for analysis of variance and optimal test conditions for the process were calculated at a catalyst amount of 0.015 g, pH value of 7.3, a temperature of 37.6 oC, and reaction time of 58 min. It was found that the confirmation of the experimental results was obtained and in these optimal conditions, the maximum removal was 89.93%. Results of the process kinetics showed that it fitted both kinetic models. The present study showed that MOF-235 catalyst could remove methylene blue dye and can be applied to separate and remove such pollutants from aqueous solutions.