Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)
Scientific Journal

Synthesize and application of Fe3O4/MW-CNT Composite in photo-catalyst-assisted electrochemical oxidation of BTX compounds from wastewater

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

M. Ghanbarnezhad 1
A. Parvareh 2
M. Moraveji 3
S. Jorfi 4

1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran

2 Faculty of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

3 Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran.

4 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22034/ijche.2023.394803.1489
Abstract
The Fe3O4/MW-CNT composite was prepared for a hybrid photo-catalyst-assisted electrochemical process for the removal of BTX contamination from wastewater. Oxidation of multi-walled carbon nanotube was conducted by different treatments including acid treatment and hydrogen peroxide. The XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and BET analyses were performed to characterize both the MW-CNT and the synthesized composite. Simultaneous photo-catalyst and electrochemical processes were conducted to evaluate the performance of a new hybrid process for wastewater treatment. The effect of current density, photo-catalyst loading, and BTX initial concentration was investigated experimentally. The characterization results of the synthesized composite show that a mixture of strong nitric acid and sulfuric acid treatment at a high exposure time and low temperature is the best route for MW-CNT oxidation. The removal efficiency of BTX compounds from wastewater using the hybrid photo-electrochemical process was found to be in the range of 28 to 43% for different conditions. The optimum condition for maximum removal of BTX was found by mathematical modeling of experimental data. The results indicate that a combination of photo-catalyst and the electrochemical process can enhance the BTX removal efficiency.

Keywords

Multi-walled carbon nano-tube
photo-catalyst
electrochemical
hydrothermal treatment
Fe3O4/MWCNT composite

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)
Volume 20, Issue 1
Winter 2023
Pages 54-66

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