Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model

Rusul Jassim; Ammar Abbas

doi:10.35208/ert.1527903

Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model

Abstract

This study degrades Congo red dye in aqueous solutions using redox reactions and Anatase nano-TiO2 as a catalyst, examining the kinetics of photodegradation through redox reactions. Then, a model based on the dispersion number estimates the efficiency of different plug flow reactors (ideal and nonideal flow states up to a mixed flow reactor). The photocatalytic redox reactions were carried out in a closed batch photoreactor using 0.2 g/L Anatase nano-TiO2 as a catalyst to remove different initial concentrations (32, 71, and 178 ppm COD) of the dye from its neutral aqueous solutions at 40 oC. The air was supplied to the reactor as an oxygen source at 0.2 L/min. The COD removal values decreased with the increasing initial dye concentration, and the best removal value was recorded (89.47 %) for the lowest initial COD (32 ppm) after 255 minutes of radiation. The kinetics study showed that the dye removal followed a first-order reaction model. Effects of initial concentration, dispersion number, and space-time on the organic distribution through the reactors were studied and discussed using a developed mathematical model based on the dispersion approach for the nonideal flow in reactors. The simulated results show that the ideal plug flow reactor (zero dispersion) performance was better than that of the nonideal plug flow reactor, and the performance decreased with the increasing dispersion number and gave the worst performance in the mixed flow reactor (infinity dispersion).

Keywords

References

H. H. G. Savenije, “Why water is not an ordinary economic good, or why the girl is special,” Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, vol. 27, no. 11–22, pp. 741–744, 2002. [CrossRef]
E. M. Saggioro, A. S. Oliveira, T. Pavesi, C. G. Maia, L. F. V. Ferreira, and J. C. Moreira, “Use of titanium dioxide photocatalysis on the remediation of model textile wastewaters containing azo dyes,” Molecules, vol. 16, no. 12, pp. 10370–10386, 2011. [CrossRef]
P. L. Hariani, M. Said, Salni, N. Aprianti, and Y. A. L. R. Naibaho, “High Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Dye in an Aqueous Solution by CoFe2O4-SiO2-TiO2 Magnetic Catalyst,” Journal of Ecological Engineering, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 118–128, 2022. [CrossRef]
A. Rafiq et al., “Photocatalytic degradation of dyes using semiconductor photocatalysts to clean industrial water pollution,” Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 97, pp. 111–128, May 2021. [CrossRef]
S. H. S. Chan, T. Y. Wu, J. C. Juan, and C. Y. Teh, “Recent developments of metal oxide semiconductors as photocatalysts in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for treatment of dye waste-water,” Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, vol. 86, no. 9, pp. 1130–1158, 2011. [CrossRef]
K. Hunger, Industrial Dyes. 2002. doi: 10.1002/3527602011.
V. Selvaraj, T. Swarna Karthika, C. Mansiya, and M. Alagar, “An over review on recently developed techniques, mechanisms and intermediate involved in the advanced azo dye degradation for industrial applications,” Journal of Molecular Structure, vol. 1224, 2021. [CrossRef]
S. Bhattacharya, A. Das, M. G, V. K, and S. J, “Mycoremediation of Congo red dye by filamentous fungi,” Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 1526–1536, Dec. 2011. [CrossRef]

V. A. Sakkas, M. A. Islam, C. Stalikas, and T. A. Albanis, “Photocatalytic degradation using design of experiments: A review and example of the Congo red degradation,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 175, no. 1–3, pp. 33–44, Mar. 2010. [CrossRef]
M. H. Habibi, A. Hassanzadeh, and S. Mahdavi, “The effect of operational parameters on the photocatalytic degradation of three textile azo dyes in aqueous TiO2 suspensions,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 172, no. 1, pp. 89–96, 2005. [CrossRef]
M. Hernández-Zamora, F. Martínez-Jerónimo, E. Cristiani-Urbina, and R. O. Cañizares-Villanueva, “Congo red dye affects survival and reproduction in the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia. Effects of direct and dietary exposure,” Ecotoxicology, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 1832–1840, 2016. [CrossRef]
E. Karapinar and I. Aksu, “An investigation of fastness properties of textile materials colored with azo dyes,” Journal of Textiles and Engineer, vol. 20, no. 90, pp. 17–24, 2013. [CrossRef]
P. Sarkhel, P. K. Srivastava, and P. Sarkhel, “Adsorption Kinetics and Isotherms Studies of Acid Azo Dye based on Anthranilic Acid and Β -Naphthol on Jute Fabric,” vol. 18, no. April, 2023. [CrossRef]
R. Vijayaraghavan, N. Vedaraman, M. Surianarayanan, and D. R. MacFarlane, “Extraction and recovery of azo dyes into an ionic liquid,” Talanta, vol. 69, no. 5, pp. 1059–1062, 2006. [CrossRef]
J. Sun and V. Chigrinov, “Effect of azo dye layer on rewriting speed of optical rewritable E-paper,” Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, vol. 561, no. June, pp. 1–7, 2012. [CrossRef]
A. Nisal et al., “Uptake of azo dyes into silk glands for production of colored silk cocoons using a green feeding approach,” ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 312–317, 2014. [CrossRef]
R. El-Hady, M. K. A. Regal, H. Kafafy, and N. E. A. Abd El-Sattar, “Evaluation of the dyeing performance and antimicrobial activity of dyed wool fabric with New Azo Dyes,” Egyptian Journal of Chemistry, vol. 64, no. 9, pp. 5291–5306, May 2021. [CrossRef]
J. Sharma, S. Sharma, and V. Soni, “Classification and impact of synthetic textile dyes on Aquatic Flora: A review,” Regional Studies in Marine Science, vol. 45, 2021. [CrossRef]
S. A. Mousa, S. Tareq, and E. A. Muhammed, “Studying the Photodegradation of Congo Red Dye from Aqueous Solutions Using Bimetallic Au–Pd/TiO2 Photocatalyst,” Baghdad Science Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 1261, Dec. 2021. [CrossRef]
N. Daneshvar, D. Salari, and A. R. Khataee, “Photocatalytic degradation of azo dye acid red 14 in water: Investigation of the effect of operational parameters,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 157, no. 1, pp. 111–116, 2003. [CrossRef]
A. Pandey, P. Singh, and L. Iyengar, “Bacterial decolorization and degradation of azo dyes,” International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 73–84, 2007. [CrossRef]
S. Benkhaya, S. M’rabet, and A. El Harfi, “Classifications, properties, recent synthesis and applications of azo dyes,” Heliyon, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020. [CrossRef]
C. I. Pearce, J. R. Lloyd, and J. T. Guthrie, “The removal of colour from textile wastewater using whole bacterial cells: A review,” Dyes and Pigments, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 179–196, 2003. [CrossRef]
P. K. Singh and R. L. Singh, “Bio-removal of Azo Dyes: A Review,” International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 108–126, 2017. [CrossRef]
A. Iryani, M. M. Ilmi, and D. Hartanto, “Adsorption study of Congo Red Dye with ZSM-5 directly synthesized from bangka kaolin withouth organic template,” Malaysian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 832–839, 2017. [CrossRef]
V. K. Gupta, I. Ali, T. A. Saleh, A. Nayak, and S. Agarwal, “Chemical treatment technologies for waste-water recycling - An overview,” RSC Advances, vol. 2, no. 16, pp. 6380–6388, 2012. [CrossRef]
S. Popli and U. D. Patel, “Destruction of azo dyes by anaerobic–aerobic sequential biological treatment: a review,” International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 405–420, 2015. [CrossRef]
B. B. Garcia, G. Lourinho, P. Romano, and P. S. D. Brito, “Photocatalytic degradation of swine wastewater on aqueous TiO2 suspensions: optimization and modeling via Box-Behnken design,” Heliyon, vol. 6, no. 1, p. e03293, 2020. [CrossRef]
J. Tian, B. Tuo, J. Wang, Y. Tang, G. Nie, and Y. Yang, “Preparation of different crystal types TiO2 materials and its photodegradation performance in Congo Red wastewater,” Phase Transitions, vol. 95, no. 10, pp. 707–725, Oct. 2022. [CrossRef]
D. Gümüş and F. Akbal, “Photocatalytic degradation of textile dye and wastewater,” Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 216, no. 1–4, pp. 117–124, 2011. [CrossRef]
F. Mcyotto, Q. Wei, D. K. Macharia, M. Huang, C. Shen, and C. W. K. Chow, “Effect of dye structure on color removal efficiency by coagulation,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 405, no. January 2020, 2021. [CrossRef]
R. H. Salman, E. M. Khudhair, K. M. Abed, and A. S. Abbas, “Removal of E133 brilliant blue dye from artificial wastewater by electrocoagulation using cans waste as electrodes,” Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 1–11, Mar. 2024. [CrossRef]
S. K. A. Barno, H. J. Mohamed, S. M. Saeed, M. J. Al-Ani, and A. S. Abbas, “Prepared 13X Zeolite as a Promising Adsorbent for the Removal of Brilliant Blue Dye from Wastewater,” Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 1–6, 2021. [CrossRef]
S. K. A. Barno and A. S. Abbas, “Reduction of Organics in Dairy Wastewater by Adsorption on a Prepared Charcoal from Iraqi Sugarcane,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 736, no. 2, 2020. [CrossRef]
M. Constantin, I. Asmarandei, V. Harabagiu, L. Ghimici, P. Ascenzi, and G. Fundueanu, “Removal of anionic dyes from aqueous solutions by an ion-exchanger based on pullulan microspheres,” Carbohydrate Polymers, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 74–84, 2013. [CrossRef]
V. K. Parida, S. K. Srivastava, A. K. Gupta, and A. Rawat, “A review on nanomaterial-based heterogeneous photocatalysts for removal of contaminants from water,” Materials Express, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 1–38, 2023. [CrossRef]
S. K. Kamal and A. S. Abbas, “Fenton oxidation reaction for removing organic contaminants in synesthetic refinery wastewater using heterogeneous Fe-Zeolite: An experimental study, optimization, and simulation,” Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, vol. 8, no. July, p. 100458, 2023. [CrossRef]
H. Ahmed and E. Felis, “Solar Light-Driven Degradation of Isoprinosine - Efficiency of the Processes and Kinetic Calculations,” Journal of Ecological Engineering, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 173–181, 2024. [CrossRef]
R. N. Abbas and A. S. Abbas, “Kinetics and Energetic Parameters Study of Phenol Removal from Aqueous Solution by Electro-Fenton Advanced Oxidation Using Modified Electrodes with PbO2 and Graphene,” Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 1–8, Jun. 2022. [CrossRef]
S. K. Kamal and A. S. Abbas, “Decrease in the organic content of refinery wastewater by photocatalytic Fenton oxidation using iron-doped zeolite: Catalyst preparation, characterization, and performance,” Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, vol. 193, no. May, p. 109549, Nov. 2023. [CrossRef]
S. K. Kamal, Z. M. Mustafa, and A. S. Abbas, “Comparative Study of Organics Removal from Refinery Wastewater by Photocatalytic Fenton Reaction Coupled with Visible Light and Ultraviolet Irradiation,” Iraqi Journal of Industrial Research, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 22–32, Dec. 2023. [CrossRef]
A. S. Abbas, M. H. Hafiz, and R. H. Salman, “Indirect Electrochemical Oxidation of Phenol Using Rotating Cylinder Reactor,” Iraqi Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 43–55, 2016. [CrossRef]
F. H. Kamil, S. K. A. Barno, F. Shems, A. Jihad, and A. S. Abbas, “Photocatalytic Degradation of Sulfamethoxazole from a Synthetic Pharmaceutical Wastewater Using Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Powder as a Suspended Heterogeneous Catalyst,” Iraqi Journal of Industrial Research, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 26–33, 2023. [CrossRef]
S. W. Choi et al., “Photolysis and TiO2 Photocatalytic Treatment under UVC/VUV Irradiation for Simultaneous Degradation of Pesticides and Microorganisms,” Applied Sciences, vol. 10, no. 13, p. 4493, Jun. 2020. [CrossRef]
S. K. Kamal and A. S. Abbas, “Decrease in the organic content of refinery wastewater by photocatalytic Fenton oxidation using iron-doped zeolite: Catalyst preparation, characterization, and performance,” Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, vol. 193, p. 109549, Nov. 2023. [CrossRef]
C. G. Joseph, Y. L. Sharain-Liew, A. Bono, and L. Y. Teng, “Photodegradation of Indigo Dye Using TiO2 and TiO2/Zeolite System,” Asian Journal of Chemistry, vol. 25, no. 15, pp. 8402–8406, 2013. [CrossRef]
M. Yasmina, K. Mourad, S. H. Mohammed, and C. Khaoula, “Treatment heterogeneous photocatalysis; Factors influencing the photocatalytic degradation by TiO2,” Energy Procedia, vol. 50, pp. 559–566, 2014. [CrossRef]
K. Jain, A. S. Patel, V. P. Pardhi, and S. J. S. Flora, “Nanotechnology in Wastewater Management: A New Paradigm Towards Wastewater Treatment,” Molecules, vol. 26, no. 6, p. 1797, Mar. 2021. [CrossRef]
Syukri, A. Fikri, Safni, and O. N. Tetra, “Synthesis of Zeolite From Natural Clay and Rice Husk Ash To Lower the Band Gap of Titania As a Promising Photocatalyst,” Journal of Chemistry and Technologies, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 60–68, 2022. [CrossRef]
T. S. Natarajan, M. Thomas, K. Natarajan, H. C. Bajaj, and R. J. Tayade, “Study on UV-LED/TiO2 process for degradation of Rhodamine B dye,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 169, no. 1–3, pp. 126–134, May 2011. [CrossRef]
V. Petrovič, V. Ducman, and S. D. Škapin, “Determination of the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO 2 coatings on ceramic tiles by monitoring the photodegradation of organic dyes,” Ceramics International, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 1611–1616, 2012. [CrossRef]
I. K. Konstantinou and T. A. Albanis, “TiO2-assisted photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes in aqueous solution: Kinetic and mechanistic investigations: A review,” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 1–14, 2004. [CrossRef]
O. Levenspiel, “Chemical reaction engineering,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 38, no. 11. pp. 4140–4143, 1999. [CrossRef]
A. S. Kovo, “Mathematical modeling and simulation of dispersion in a nonideal plug flow reactor,” Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1129–1134, 2008. [CrossRef]
A. Bahadori, “Prediction of Axial Dispersion in Plug-Flow Reactors Using a Simple Method,” Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 200–205, 2012. [CrossRef]
H. S. Fogler, Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering. 2019.
M. C. Potter, J. L. Lessing, and E. F. Aboufadel, Advanced Engineering Mathematics. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019. [CrossRef]
T. E. Agustina, R. Komala, and M. Faizal, “Application of TiO2 nano particles photocatalyst to degrade synthetic dye wastewater under solar irradiation,” Contemporary Engineering Sciences, vol. 8, no. 33–36, pp. 1625–1636, 2015. [CrossRef]
N. Goodarzi, Z. Ashrafi-Peyman, E. Khani, and A. Z. Moshfegh, “Recent Progress on Semiconductor Heterogeneous Photocatalysts in Clean Energy Production and Environmental Remediation,” Catalysts, vol. 13, no. 7, 2023. [CrossRef]
M. I. Sari, T. E. Agustina, E. Melwita, and T. Aprianti, “Color and COD degradation in photocatalytic process of procion red by using TiO2 catalyst under solar irradiation,” in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2017. [CrossRef]
N. San, A. Hatipoǧlu, G. Koçtürk, and Z. Çinar, “Prediction of primary intermediates and the photodegradation kinetics of 3-aminophenol in aqueous TiO2 suspensions,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 139, no. 2–3, pp. 225–232, 2001. [CrossRef]
Zoltan K Nagy Arwa El Hagrasy Jim Litster, Continuous Pharmaceutical Processing, vol. 42. in AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Series, vol. 42. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. [CrossRef]

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Wastewater Treatment Processes , Catalytic Activity , Reaction Engineering (Excl. Nuclear Reactions)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Rusul Jassim
0009-0003-6405-7479
Iraq

Ammar Abbas ^*
0000-0002-2781-0762
Iraq

Publication Date

September 30, 2025

Submission Date

August 4, 2024

Acceptance Date

December 6, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 8 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1527903

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA26YD36RY

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Jassim, R., & Abbas, A. (2025). Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model. Environmental Research and Technology, 8(3), 672-681. https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1527903

AMA

1.Jassim R, Abbas A. Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model. ERT. 2025;8(3):672-681. doi:10.35208/ert.1527903

Chicago

Jassim, Rusul, and Ammar Abbas. 2025. “Congo Red Dye Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Redox Reactions: Degradation Kinetics and Simulation Using Dispersion Model”. Environmental Research and Technology 8 (3): 672-81. https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1527903.

EndNote

Jassim R, Abbas A (September 1, 2025) Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model. Environmental Research and Technology 8 3 672–681.

IEEE

[1]R. Jassim and A. Abbas, “Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model”, ERT, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 672–681, Sept. 2025, doi: 10.35208/ert.1527903.

ISNAD

Jassim, Rusul - Abbas, Ammar. “Congo Red Dye Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Redox Reactions: Degradation Kinetics and Simulation Using Dispersion Model”. Environmental Research and Technology 8/3 (September 1, 2025): 672-681. https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1527903.

JAMA

1.Jassim R, Abbas A. Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model. ERT. 2025;8:672–681.

MLA

Jassim, Rusul, and Ammar Abbas. “Congo Red Dye Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Photocatalytic Redox Reactions: Degradation Kinetics and Simulation Using Dispersion Model”. Environmental Research and Technology, vol. 8, no. 3, Sept. 2025, pp. 672-81, doi:10.35208/ert.1527903.

Vancouver

1.Rusul Jassim, Ammar Abbas. Congo red dye removal from aqueous solutions by photocatalytic redox reactions: Degradation kinetics and simulation using dispersion model. ERT. 2025 Sep. 1;8(3):672-81. doi:10.35208/ert.1527903