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Background and Objectives: The presence of chemical dyes in the water resources not
only pollutes them, but also brings about death of organisms and serious
indemnities to the environment through stopping oxygen production and preventing
penetration of the sunlight. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of
the electrolysis process for decolonization of phenolphthalein and phenol red
from aqueous environment.
Materials and Methods: The experiments were conducted in an electrochemical reactor having a working
volume of 1 liter equipped with 2 graphite electrodes. This study was conducted
at laboratory scale. Samples were prepared by dissolving two phenol red and
phenolphthalein dyes in drinking water. Then, the effect of operating
parameters such as voltage, inter-electrode distance, and NaCl concentration on
the complete dye removal was determined considering optimum retention time
using Factorial variance analyses and
the graphs were plotted using MS Excel software.
Results: the results
showed that the optimum conditions for completely removal of phenolphthalein
was achieved applying a voltage of 48 V, the retention time of 9 minutes, 5 cm
inter-electrode distance, and the salt concentration of 1.5 g/l, whereas,
complete removal of phenol red was achieved applying a voltage of 48 V, the
retention time of 8 minutes, 5 cm inter-electrode distance, and the salt
concentration of 2 g/l. Under these conditions, COD removal efficiency for
phenol red and phenolphthalein was 85 and 80 percent respectively.
Conclusion: This study
revealed that electrolysis process is an effective method to remove both
phenolphthalein and phenol red dyes from effluent, because it can completely
remove the dyes in a short time.
