MODIFICATION OF FAUJASITE WITH Fe3O4 AS A FENTON AND PHOTO-FENTON CATALYSTS FOR EFFICIENT DEGRADATION OF METHYL ORANGE
Melani Puji Puspitasari (a), Witri Wahyu Lestari (a*), Teguh Endah Saraswati (a), Rino Rakhmata Mukti (b), Hamzah Fansuri (c)

(a) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta, Indonesia, 57126
(b) Division of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
(c) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Technology Sepuluh Nopember, ITS Campus Sukolilo, Surabaya, Indonesia, 60111

*Corresponding author: witri[at]mipa.uns.ac.id

Abstract

The employment of synthetic dyes in industrial sector has implications for increasing levels of water pollution. Methyl orange (MO) is one of the most extensively used azo dyes in industry. Unfortunately, these dyes are toxic for aquatic organism and not easily removed from wastewater. Advanced oxidation Processes (AOPs) based on reactive oxygen species such as hydroxyl radicals have been widely applied as an effective and economical technology for wastewater treatment. Fenton reaction is chosen to be an effective AOPs systems, which works based on reaction of H_2O_2 and Fe^2^+ to form OH radicals. The presence of light will speed up these process due to higher energy in electron excitation and creating more hydroxyl radicals. This study investigated the effect of Fe_3O_4 addition into Faujasit as supporting material and its performance to degrade MO through fenton and photo-fenton processes. Fe_3O_4/Faujasite composites were prepared by ex-situ method using ultrasonic homogenizer with percentages of Fe_3O_4/Faujasite (%w/w) 3, 10, and 20%. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analysis show a combination of characteristic peaks of the precursor material. Analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX) represent that Fe_3O_4 covered the support material without changing its initial morphology and confirm the presence of Fe in Fe_3O_4/Faujasite composites. The thermal stability of the composites also increases with the addition of Fe_3O_4. VSM analysis revealed a decrease in the magnetization value of Fe_3O_4/Faujasite composites compared to Fe_3O_4 nanoparticles. The degradation tests of MO showed that the 3% Fe_3O_4/Faujasite composite showed optimal performance both in Fenton and photo-Fenton with efficiency up to 36.83%, and 82.77% respectively for 150 minutes.

Keywords: Fe3O4, Faujasite, composite, degradation, methyl orange, Fenton, photo-Fenton

Topic: Environmental Chemistry and Engineering