Photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes

The photocatalytic degradation of commonly used textile dyes, namely, Reactive Black-5 (RB-5), Red (ME4BL), Golden Yellow (MERL), Blue-222, Methylene Blue, and Malachite Green, has been studied, using TiO2 (P25) as a photocatalyst. All the dye solutions could be decolorized. Kinetics of RB-5 oxidation reaction has been studied and was found to be of first order in dye concentration. Effects of different parameters such as catalyst amount, initial concentration of the dyes, and pH of solution along with biological parameters (TOC and COD) on the rate of degradation were studied. Experimental results showed that photocatalytic degradation of commonly used RB-5 was very effective at the optimum catalyst quantity of 2.5 g/L.