OPTIMIZATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF "FENTON" AND "ELECTRO-FENTON" PROCESSES FOR DYE REMOVAL IN SUSTAINABLE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Technological advancements have led to the production and widespread use of numerous and diverse chemical substances in various industries. Among the produced and used substances, dyes hold one of the most significant shares. To mitigate the harmful effects and color problems caused by these substances, which are present in the wastewater of textile and dye manufacturing plants and can also be released into the environment, it is necessary to develop alternative technologies. For color removal, which is caused by dyes that are mostly toxic and resistant pollutants, the use of Fenton and Fenton-like processes, which are advanced oxidation methods, has been preferred over traditional treatment methods. In this study, the color removal performance of the Fenton and Electro-Fenton processes was optimized using Basic Blue 3 (BB3) dye. The study is three factors and three levels (Fe2+: 5-10-20 mg/L, H2O2: 500-1000-2000 mg/L, Current Density: 20-30-40 mA/cm2, and Dye Concentration C0: 2.5-5-7.5 mg/L). In the experiments conducted in the laboratory, it was observed that in the Fenton (Fe + H2O2) process, the best color removal efficiency of 98.2% was achieved when the BB3 concentration was 7.5 mg/L, the iron (Fe2+) concentration was 5 mg/L, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was 500 mg/L. In the Electro-Fenton process, 100% color removal was observed when the hydrogen peroxide concentration was 500 mg/L, the dye concentration was 2.5 mg/L, and at all three current densities (20-30-40 mA/cm2). In the Electro-Fenton process, higher removal efficiencies were achieved in a shorter time at lower dye concentrations, while energy consumption calculations revealed that the Fenton process is a more economical alternative.