Treatment of Orange II Azo Dye Using Electrochemical and Photo-Oxidative Methods

The ready availability and cheapness of azo compounds have increased their use as intermediary products in organic synthesis. In addition, they are widely applied in dye and pharmaceutical industries. However, they have been found to be toxic and in some cases mutagenic. Due to the large degree of aromatics present in azo dye molecules and their biological persistence, conventional biological and physical methods are ineffective for their discoloration, degradation, or removal. Electrochemical methods, such as electrocoagulation (EC), have been used in recent times for the most effective removal of orange II azo dye from wastewaters using iron, aluminum and combination of them as electrodes. Photo-oxidative methods might be another option for the photo-degradation of azo dyes. In this paper, we…