Degradation of Acid Orange 7 Dye with PMS and H2O2 Activated by CoFe2O4/PAC Nanocomposite

Background & Aims of the Study: Discharge of untreated colored wastewater into aquatic environments could cause problems such as cancer. Among the various treatment methods, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have attracted much attention in recent years. The aim of this study was the removal of acid orange 7 dye using CoFe2O4@PAC nanocomposite in the presence of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Materials & Methods: The various variables effect including pH, catalyst dose, peroxymonosulfate and hydrogen peroxide concentration, reaction time, and initial dye concentration were evaluated. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD and BET analyses. The residual concentration of AO7 dye was determined using UV–Vis spectrophotometer at wavelength of 485 nm. Results: It was found that decolorization increases by increasing the catalyst dosage and reaction time, and decreasing pH. With increasing the dye initial concentration from 10 mg/L to 250 mg/L, in the presence of H2O2 and PMS dye removal decreased from 99.5% to 39.7% and from 99.9% to 43.7%, respectively. The adsorption kinetics was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetic model (R2>0.99). Conclusions: The results indicated that the prepared composite could be used as an effective and environmental friendly magnetic adsorbent for the removal of AO7 dye from aqueous solutions.