Impacts of dyebath auxiliaries on the reductive discoloration of Acid Orange 7 dye by high-carbon iron filings

This study proposed that the physicochemical effects of common dyebath auxiliaries on the bulk dye solution as well as on the iron surface can influence the reductive discoloration of effluent containing Acid Orange 7 (AO7) dye using high-carbon iron filings. Sodium chloride increased the discoloration rate because of the pitting corrosion on the iron surface, triggered by chloride anion. ‘Salting out’ effect of ammonium sulfate improved the reaction rate up to a certain concentration, beyond which it could compete with dye molecules for the reactive sites, as revealed by formed sulfite and sulfide. Urea drastically reduced the discoloration rates by its chaotropic effect on the bulk solution and by wrapping around the iron surface. Organic acids, namely acetic acid and citric acid, stimulated iron corrosion to improve the discoloration rates. The discoloration reaction was biphasic with an initial fast reaction phase, where in every case more than 70% discoloration was observed within 5 min of reaction, preceding a slow reaction phase. The experimental data could be well described using biphasic kinetics equation (R2> 0.997 in all cases) and a biphasic equation was developed considering the individual impact of co-existing auxiliaries on AO7 discoloration.