The evaluation of electrical energy per order (EEo) for photooxidative decolorization of four textile dye solutions by the kinetic model

Photooxidative decolorization of four textile dyestuffs, C.I. Acid Orange 7 (AO7), C.I. Acid Orange 8 (AO8), C.I. Acid Orange 52 (AO52) and C.I. Acid Blue 74 (AB74), by UV/H2O2 was investigated in a laboratory scale photoreactor equipped with a 15 W low pressure mercury vapour lamp. The decolorization of the dyes was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics, and hence the figure-of-merit electrical energy per order (EEo) is appropriate for estimating the electrical energy efficiency. The EEo values were found to depend on the concentration of H2O2, concentration and basic structure of the dye. This study shows that these textile dyes can be treated easily and effectively with the UV/H2O2 process with EEo values between 0.4 and 5 kW h m−3 order−1, depending on the initial concentrations of dyes and H2O2. The kinetic model, based on the initial rates of degradation, provided good prediction of the EEo values for a variety of conditions.