Investigation of Basalt Properties as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Fenton Oxidation of Textile Wastewater

In this study, basalt is used as a catalyst for the removal of the dyes malachite green (MG) and crystal violet (CV) from aqueous solution. First, the effect of sintering temperature on Fenton process is optimized using basalt powder. Different analysis techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) are used to characterize basalt powder. It is concluded that Fe2O3 in basalt powder is the main component responsible for the degradation of dyes in the Fenton process. The maximum degradation of the dyes (97.02% for CV and 95.71% for MG) is obtained at 10 mg L-1 dye concentration, solution pH of 6, 1 g L-1 catalyst amount, and 12 mm H2O2 concentration for 2 h. The results are fitted to the second-order kinetic model. The reusability of the catalyst is explored, and the basalt showed stability in the removal efficiency for repeated five cycles. The degradation of real textile wastewater is also studied. The removal efficiency reached up to 60.33% at optimum conditions of pH 2, basalt amount of 5 g L-1, H2O2 concentration of 400 mm. The results showed that the basalt powder is successfully utilized as a heterogeneous catalyst for textile wastewater treatment.

Automated summary

In this study, basalt was utilized as a catalyst for the removal of dyes from aqueous solution, with Fe2O3 identified as the main component responsible for dye degradation in the Fenton process. Optimal conditions were determined for achieving high degradation efficiency, and the results were fitted to a second-order kinetic model to confirm the effectiveness of basalt as a catalyst for textile wastewater treatment.