OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS FOR DECOLORIZATION AND DEGRADATION OF C. I. REACTIVE BLUE 29 BY OZONE

Because conventional wastewater treatment of effluent containing anthraquinone dye causes notable environmental problems, it is important to find effective alternative methods for dye removal. This study evaluated the efficacy of ozonation for dye removal and Chemical Oxygen Demand reduction and identified optimal operational conditions for parameters such as pH, contact time and concentration of C.I. Reactive Blue 29 dye in a semi-batch reactor. Values of pH between 3 and 11 and contact times between 15 and 120 minutes were investigated. Dye concentrations were based on the American Dye Manufacture Institute standards and ranged from 1000 to 5000. Although results showed that Chemical Oxygen Demand removal by ozone alone was not very efficient (58%), ozonation proved to be an efficient method for decolorizing Reactive Blue 29 (96%). pH was found to significantly influence the effectiveness of Chemical Oxygen Demand removal, and optimal pH conditions (95% confidence interval) were between 9 and 11. For decolorization, pH adjustment was not necessary. Degradation and decolorization of dye were found to be strongly influenced by the contact time, optimal conditions (95% confidence interval) for degradation and decolorization were 60 and 30 minutes, respectively. The optimal dye concentration was 1000 American Dye Manufacture Institute.