Photo-Fenton process for the degradation of Tartrazine (E102) in aqueous medium

The kinetics of Tartrazine decay through photo-Fenton process, which has not reported in literature, was explored. Tartrazine is a synthetic azo dye used in food colorants industry, cosmetic and textile industry. There are very few studies in the literature concerning Tartrazine degradation but they did not lead to a total mineralization. Fotooxidative degradation of Tartrazine (E102) by Uv/Fe2+/H2O2 was investigated using a laboratory scale photoreactor equipped with a low pressure mercury lamp. The degradation kinetics under irradiation (200-280 nm) was optimized in respect to H2O2 concentration (6 x 10(-4) M) and Fe2+ concentration (8.28 x 10(-5) M) at a constant Tartrazine concentration (1.035 x 10(-5) M) at pH 3. The degradation rate was influenced by the temperature with an optimum value of 323 K and thermodynamic parameters were calculated. Application of photo-Fenton system also assures total organic carbon removal with 80% efficiency after 2 h irradiation. (C) 2013 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.