Dye house wastewater treatment through advanced oxidation process using Cu-exchanged Y zeolite: A heterogeneous catalytic approach

Catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation of an anionic dye has been explored in this study. Copper(II) complex of NN′–ethylene bis(salicylidene-aminato) (salenH2) has been encapsulated in super cages of zeolite-Y by flexible ligand method. The catalyst has been characterized by Fourier transforms infra red spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffractograms, Thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analysis and nitrogen adsorption studies. The effects of various parameters such as pH, catalyst and hydrogen peroxide concentration on the oxidation of dye were studied. The results indicate that complete removal of color has been obtained after a period of less than 1 h at 60 °C, 0.175 M H2O2 and 0.3 g l−1 catalyst. More than 95% dye removal has been achieved using this catalyst for commercial effluent. These studies indicate that copper salen complex encapsulated in zeolite framework is a potential heterogeneous catalyst for removal of color from wastewaters.