Enhanced electrochemical oxidation of dye wastewater with Fe2O3 supported catalyst

Electrochemical oxidation of Acid Red 3R was investigated in the presence of Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O3 as Fenton-like catalyst in the reactor. The results showed that the catalyst had catalytic activity in the electrochemical process. Under the optimal conditions, the decolorization efficiency reached 77.2% in 100 min. UV-vis spectrum and LC-MS analysis revealed that the dye molecule was firstly decomposed to aromatic intermediates, further degraded to ring opening products and finally mineralized. The azo dye degradation might be attributed to strong oxidant (OH)-O-center dot that produced from the synergetic effect of between Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst and electrochemical system. (C) 2013 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.