Decolorization and Modeling of Synthetic Wastewater Using O3 and H2O2/O3 Processes

This research deals with the decolorization of synthetic wastewater, prepared with the acid 1:2 metal-complex textile dye C.I. Acid Blue 193, using the ozonation (O₃) and H₂O₂/O₃ processes. To minimize the number of experiments, they were performed using the 2^k factorial design. Five influential parameters were examined: initial dye concentration, ozone flow rate, initial pH value, decolorization time and H₂O₂ addition. The decolorization efficiency was 95% in 20 minutes (pH = 7; O₃ flow rate of 2 g/L.h) and a higher increase in the toxicity after the ozonation process (39%) indicates the formation of carcinogenic by-products. According to the variance test analysis, the initial dye concentration, the ozone flow rate, the initial pH value and the decolorization time and their first- and second-order interactions are significant, while the H₂O₂ addition was not important with respect to the discussed range. With the help of these significant factors a regression model was constructed and the adequacy of the model was checked. The obtained regression polynomial was used to model the relation between the absorbance and the influential parameters by fitting the response surface. This response surface may be used to predict the absorbance result from a set of influential parameters, or it can be rearranged in such a way as to predict the set of process decolorization parameters necessary to reduce the absorbance of wastewater with the given initial dye concentration, below the prescribed limit. It is also shown that the 2^k factorial design can be suitable for predicting the operating expenses of the ozonation.