Abstract

The present study investigates the degradation of Acid Red 14 (AR 14), commonly used as a textile dye, in aqueous medium through the process of thermally activated oxidation by peroxydisulfate under a set of variables (concentration of 2 S(2)O(8)(-), AR 14, Ag(+) and temperature). Degradation efficiency was small when the oxidation was carried out in the absence of heat. Increasing the temperature from 20 to 70 degrees C accelerated the oxidation rate of AR 14, which achieved complete oxidation in 10 min. Also results showed that removal of dye increased with increasing Ag(+), peroxydisulfate initial concentration, pH and dye initial concentration decreasing. Our results suggest that the oxidative treatment of AR 14 by peroxydisulfate activated with heat is a viable option for removal of the textile dyes from effluents.