Removal of Acid Orange 7 dye from wastewater using combination of ultraviolet radiation, ultrasonic method, and MgO nanoparticles

Background Industrial dyes are toxic and carcinogenic, therefore, they should be removed from wastewater. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of acid orange 7 Dye from wastewater using ultraviolet (UV) radiation, MgO nanoparticles, ultrasonic method alone and in combination with each other. Methods The effects of some factors such as temperature, pH, hydraulic retention time (HRT), UV power, and concentration of MgO nanoparticles on the removal of Acid Orange 7 dye from synthetic wastewater using different methods were investigated. Also, adsorption isotherms for MgO nanoparticles and kinetics for UV radiation were investigated. Results The optimum HRT was 55 minutes while the temperature was not effective in dye removal using the ultrasonic method. Under optimum conditions for UV irradiation method (HRT = 70 minutes, UV power = 170 mW/cm2, and temperature = 10˚C), 58% of the dye was removed. However, under optimum conditions for MgO nanoparticles method (HRT = 15 minutes, temperature = 20˚C, and ratio of MgO nanoparticles to the initial dye concentration = 67.2), 82% of the dye was removed. By combining these methods, the dye removal efficiency was significantly increased. The combination of ultrasonic method and MgO nanoparticles had no significant effect on increasing the dye removal efficiency from wastewater. It was revealed that dye removal using UV radiation can be described by the first-order kinetics. Conclusion According to the results, UV radiation has a synergistic effect on the dye adsorption process by MgO nanoparticles. Therefore, the combination of these methods can be effective for the removal of dye from wastewater.