A Study on removal of Methylene Blue dye by photo catalysis integrated with nanofiltration using statistical and experimental approaches

In this work, the removal of Methylene Blue dye from the synthetic textile effluent has been investigated using a hybrid system (photocatalysis and nanofiltration). The Commercial ZnO powder was used as a catalyst in the photocatalytic operation. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the various operating parameters such as pH, catalyst loading and time duration and this optimization has enhanced the decolorization efficiencies. The results were compared and contrasted with the individual as well as the combined systems at optimized conditions. The results indicate that the photocatalysis process alone has resulted in 33% of dye decolorization and 26.5% of total organic carbon (TOC) removal, while the individual ceramic nanoflitration system has yielded 43% of decolorization and 35.03% TOC removal. About 94% of the dye was decolorized, and 70% of TOC was removed in 94.23 minutes of operation by the hybrid system at optimized initial operating conditions.

Automated summary

In this study, a hybrid system of photocatalysis and nanofiltration was used to remove Methylene Blue dye from synthetic textile effluent. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize operating parameters, and the results of photocatalysis, nanofiltration, and the combined system were compared. The hybrid system showed the highest efficiency in dye removal at optimized conditions.