Effects of Sulfidation, Magnetization, and Oxygenation on Azo Dye Reduction by Zerovalent Iron

Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Nov 1;50(21):11879-11887. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03184. Epub 2016 Oct 17.

Abstract

Applications of zerovalent iron (ZVI) for water treatment under aerobic conditions include sequestration of metals (e.g., in acid mine drainage) and decolorization of dyes (in wastewaters from textile manufacturing). The processes responsible for contaminant removal can be a complex mixture of reduction, oxidation, sorption, and coprecipitation processes, which are further complicated by the dynamics of oxygen intrusion, mixing, and oxide precipitation. To better understand such systems, the removal of an azo dye (Orange I) by micron-sized granular ZVI at neutral pH was studied in open (aerobic) stirred batch reactors, by measuring the kinetics of Orange I decolorization and changes in "geochemical" properties (DO, Fe(II), and Eh), with and without two treatments that might improve the long-term performance of this system: sulfidation by pretreatment with sulfide and magnetization by application of a weak magnetic field (WMF). The results show that the changes in solution chemistry are coupled to the dynamics of oxygen intrusion, which was modeled as analogous to dissolved oxygen sag curves. Both sulfidation and magnetization increased Orange I removal rates 2.4-71.8-fold, but there was little synergistic benefit to applying both enhancements together. Respike experiments showed that the enhancement from magnetization carries over from magnetization to sulfidation, but not the reverse.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Azo Compounds / chemistry
  • Coloring Agents*
  • Iron / chemistry*
  • Wastewater
  • Water Purification

Substances

  • Azo Compounds
  • Coloring Agents
  • Waste Water
  • Iron