Performances of exchanged zeolite for the degradation of Methyl orange

dye via photo-Fenton process

Olfa OULEDLTAIEF1*, Stéphane Siffert2, Sophie FOURMENTIN2, Mourad BENZINA1
1
Water, Energy and Environment Laboratory, Code AD 10-02 ENIS, B.P. 3038, Sfax,
Tunisia(*email:olfa.ol@live.fr)

2
ULCO, Unity of Environmental Chemistry and Interactions on the Living Organisms,F,
A4492 Dunkerque, France

Many industries, such as the textile, paint and plastics industries currently use synthetic
dyesin their production processes.The environmental impact of the wastewater resulting from
those industries is dramatic. Those pigments are characterized with both high stability and
toxicity.These aromatic amines which are characterized by the presence of N= N
groupscannot easily be degraded and are apt to be carcinogenic and mutagenic to humans.
One of the most used is methyl orange1.Various technologies are utilized to remove dyes,
such as biological, thermal, chemical treatmentsHowever, these treatment technologies are
less effective and still need to be improved . Advanced oxidation processes have become a
popular method for wastewater treatmentbecause they convert contaminants into stable,
inorganic compounds, like carbon dioxide and water. Among them an especial interest has
been focused to the Fenton’s and photo-Fentoncatalytic process.Among the possible catalysis
materials, metalexchanged zeolites2 are obvious candidates due to their high sorption
capacities, good chemical andstructural proprieties. .Cations (e.g., Na) located in the zeolite
cages, channels and cavities, can be exchanged by other metal cations. The size, number and
position of the exchanged cations contribute significantly to the catalyst activity. In the
present work, for the first time, a faujasite type zeolite(FAU zeo) was synthesized from low
grade Tunisian clay. In the second time,various ions of transition metals: Cu, Co and Fe have
been exchanged intothe zeoliteto be used as photo-Fenton catalysts for degradation methyl
orange in water in presence of visible irradiation.

1
W. Liu, Q. Hub, F. Mob, J. Hub, Y.Feng, H. Tang, H. Ye and S.Miaoa.Journal of Molecular
Catalysis A: Chemical 395 (2014).
2
A. K. Aboul-Gheit, S. M. Ahmed and S. A. Hanafy.Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 288 (2008)