Parametric and Kinetic Studies on the Color Removal of Aqueous Methylene Blue by Photocatalysis using Pelletized Magnesia (MgO) As Photocatalyst

Author : Rosales, Aron-Jorge Perez
Major Adviser : Arocena, Rhebner E.
Committee Members : Guerrero, Gino Apollo M.; Bautista, Ramer P.
Month : December
Type : Thesis
Degree: BS
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Abstract

One of the main sources with severe pollution problems worldwide is the textile industry and its dye-containing wastewaters, which can be treated by processes such as photocatalysis. Photocatalysts had been used for the removal of dyes and were studied to have good decolorization efficiencies. This study focused on the photocatalysis of methylene blue (MB) using pelletized magnesia as a photocalyst. The parameters in the experiment were the initial dye concentration, the agitation speed, and the presence of UV light (with duplicates). The response was the color removal of MB per mass of photocatalyst (q) in mg/g. Based on the results, the parameters with significant effect to q are initial dye concentration, agitation speed, presence of UV light, and the interaction of initial dye concentration and agitation speed. The combination of parameters that resulted to the highest color removal per mass of photocatalyst is 420 rpm for agitation speed, 50 ppm for initial dye concentration, and present UV light that yields to a color removal of 3.5619 ± 0.6570 mg/g. From the kinetics of both absent and present UV light, the experiment resulted that the present UV light does provide photocatalysis to an adsorption only system. For the kinetics study, the integral method was used and the rate law with first order kinetic model was established with an average first order rate constant to be 0.0067 ± 0.0003 per min.


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