Development of the novel advanced electrooxidation process for decolorization of recalcitrant dyes (Methylene Blue, Rhodamine B, Congo Red): Effect of operating factors

• UV/EO exhibited synergistic effect for decolorization. • •OH in UV/EO was 4.6 times higher than the EO process. • Decolorization was voltage-independent, but enhanced with higher CD and NaCl. • BDD was effective anodes in color removal than DSA by 1.6 times. • Energy consumption was inversely proportional to the accelerating conditions of decolorization, except for CD. The research aims to develop an advanced electrooxidation process for decolorization of recalcitrant dye. To enhance the radical formation, a combination of UV irradiation and electrooxidation (UV/EO) is used. Methylene Blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RB) and Congo Red (CR) dyes were used as model compounds to represent recalcitrant dyes. The performance of UV/EO process was investigated under various operating factors (i.e., current density (CD), voltage, pH, NaCl, anodic material), and compared with chlorination, UV irradiation, and electrooxidation (EO) process. MB was the highest resistant dye to the UV/EO process. The UV/EO process exhibited a synergistic effect on decolorization, and it removed MB 1.35 time faster than the EO process. Based on indirect determination of •OH, the •OH formation in the EO process was 2.4 ×10 −13 M, which lower than that in the UV/EO process by 4 times. The second-order rate constant for MB oxidation by HO• ( k H O • , M B ) was 3.31 × 10 9 M −1 s −1 . The pseudo 1 st -order decolorization kinetic ( k’ ) was independent with voltages, but directly depended on CD and NaCl concentrations. Lower pH enhanced the k’ value. The specific energy consumption was in a range of 0.408 – 5.303 kWh/m 3 , depending on the k’ value. The energy consumption decreased with higher the k’ value, except for increasing CD. The Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) was more effective in the decolorization rate than dimensional active anode (DSA) by 1.6 times. Treatment of industrial dye wastewater by the UV/EO process eliminated color intensity (ADMI), COD, and BOD 5 by 80 %, 91 %, and 9 %, respectively.