Photocatalytic Degradation of Eriochrome Black-T Dye by Immobilized Dowex-1x8

Eriochrome Black-T (EBT) is a commonly used textile dye. It is a harmful organic molecule and is also present in textile effluent. The photocatalytic degradation has been studied using MBIR Dowex-1×8 as the photocatalyst. Some parameters such as pH, light intensity, the amount of photocatalyst and initial dye concentration were also studied. At room temperature at pH 7.5, the optimal degradation of Eriochrome Black-T dye (30 mg/L) was observed in about 210 minutes and the photo catalyst load was 2.0 gm. The kinetic study related to the photocatalytic degradation of EBT followed first order kinetics where the rate constant is 2.11x10-2 min-1. This catalyst can degrade dye molecules and can recover transparent water from coloured textile effluent in few hours of treatment.