Study on Photocatalytic and Sonocatalytic Activity of Bi2O3 Synthesized by Sol-gel Method in Removing Organic Compounds of Ardabil Textile Factory Effluents

Dye content of the textile industry wastewater has either chemical structure resistant against the purification processes such as physical, chemical and biological treatment methods or low removal efficiency. Thus, alternative methods must be used in order to remove the organic compounds of these effluents. In the present study we used bismuth oxide nanoparticles to remove the organic compounds from effluents of Ardabil Textile Factory. in the present study in order to use nanoparticle technology to remove organic compounds, firstly sol-gel method was used to synthesize the bismuth oxide nanoparticles, which were examined using XRD, FESEM and DRS techniques. Then, the nanoparticles were examined for their sonocatalytic and photocatalytic activities in the process of removing the organic compounds from the effluents of Ardabil Textile Factory. Results showed that compounds such as n-Decane, n-Dodecane, n-tetradecane and Hexadecane accounted for up to 70% of the abundance of chemical compounds. In the nanoparticle-free sample subject to ultrasonic waves, the removal rate of the chemical compounds including n-Decane, n-Dodecane, n-Tetradecane and Hexadecane was as low as 2.86%, 6.25%, 8.33% and 25%, respectively. In contrast, in the sample containing nanoparticles subject to ultrasonic waves the removal rate for n-Decane and n-Dodecane was as high as 92.14% and 95.13%, respectively, for n-Tetradecane and Hexadecane was over 99%. In the sample subject to UV and in the presence of bismuth oxide nanoparticles, n-Decane and n-Dodecane was removed by 92.82% and 93.75%, respectively, whereas n-Tetradecane and Hexadecane was removed by over 99%. results revealed that US without nanoparticles had a little efficiency in removing the organic compounds. Whereas, both the US/Bi2O3 and UV/Bi2O3 processes had a removal efficiency of over 90%. Thus, adding nanoparticles of Bi2O3 to the effluents can make a substantial contribution to the removal of organic compounds from the textile industry effluents.