Removal of Reactive Dyes in Textile Effluents by Catalytic Ozonation Pursuing on-Site Effluent Recycling

The textile wash-off process consumes substantial amounts of water, which generates large volumes of wastewater that pose potential pollution issues for the environment. In the present study, catalytic ozonation was applied to degrade residual dyes present in rinsing effluents from wash-off processes towards the aim of recycling the waste effluents. A magnetic catalyst was prepared for promoting dye degradation by catalytic ozonation. Via a hydrothermal reaction, highly magnetic manganese ferrite (MnFe₂O₄) particles were successfully loaded on carbon aerogel (CA) materials (MnFe₂O₄@CA). The results showed that the developed catalyst strikingly promoted the degradation of dye contaminants by catalytic ozonation, in terms of color removal and reduction of chemical oxidation demand (COD) in rinsing effluents. COD removal efficiency in catalytic ozonation was enhanced by 25% when compared with that achieved by ozonation alone under the same treatment conditions. Moreover, we confirmed that after catalytic ozonation, the rinsing effluents could be recycled to replace fresh water without any evident compromise in the color quality of fabrics. The color difference (ΔE_cmc(2:1)) between fabrics treated with recycled effluents and water was not more than 1.0, suggesting that the fabrics treated with recycled effluents displayed acceptable color reproducibility. Although colorfastness and color evenness of fabrics treated with recycled effluents were slightly poorer than those of fabrics treated with water, they were still within the acceptable tolerance. Therefore, the present study validated that catalytic ozonation was a promising technology for saving water and wastewater elimination in textile dyeing. It provides a feasibility assessment of catalytic ozonation for recycling waste effluents to reduce water dependence in textile production. Furthermore, we show a new perspective in on-site recycling waste effluents by catalytic ozonation and enrich the knowledge on feasible approaches for water management in textile production.