ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Fenton-like oxidation of Eosin Yellow using laterite catalyst in a circulating fluidized-bed reactor: optimization, kinetics, and mass transfer study

Titikshya Mohapatra and Prabir Ghosh

Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT, Raipur, India

E-mail: prabirg.che@nitrr.ac.in

Received: 21 January 2023  Accepted: 20 June 2023

Abstract:

The utilization of natural catalysts in Fenton oxidation processes has garnered greater interest. However, the potential of laterite soil as a catalyst for Fenton-based organic pollutant remediation has not been thoroughly investigated. In this work, Eosin Yellow dye which is wildly found in textile, ink manufacturing, and cosmetic industry wastewater was treated through fluidized-bed Fenton process by using thermally modified laterite soil as catalyst. Various characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were conducted in order to provide insight on the properties of modified laterite catalyst. The catalyst degraded 91% of 120 mg/L of Eosin Yellow dye and reduced the total organic carbon (TOC) by 56% after 100 min of reaction period at pH 3.5, a bed height of 7 mm, H₂O₂ concentration of 4 mM with a recirculating feed flow of 150 ml/min. The kinetics and process mass transfer were also studied for the better understanding of catalytic reactions inside the fluidized-bed reactor. According to the results of the mass transfer investigation, the rate of the fluidized-bed Fenton reaction is regulated through the external solid–liquid mass transfer processes. Laterite demonstrated superior catalytic stability and decreased surface site deactivation after being subjected to four consecutive oxidation cycles. In addition, a cost benefit analysis of the fluidized-bed Fenton method for treating wastewater containing dye was also carried out. Since, it has a minimal operating cost as well as environmental effect, the fluidized-bed Fenton technique can be a viable choice for treating wastewater containing various organic pollutants.

Keywords: Fluidized-bed Fenton; Dye degradation; Wastewater treatment; Oxidation process; Iron-rich laterite soil; Heterogenous Fenton process

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-02937-7

Chemical Papers 77 (10) 6285–6297 (2023)