Studies on degradation of triphenylmethane dye crystal violet by electro-flotation device

Electrolysis technology is very effective in removing organic pollutants including dye wastewater and takes into account environmental friendliness. This paper deals with the electrochemical degradation of triphenylmethane dye crystal violet (DCV) from the aqueous solution using 304 stainless steel electrodes. The electrolytic cell device with a flotation column structure was set up and the electrolytic degradation process was studied. It could be found that the DCV removal efficiency and reaction rate constants were fitting the first-order kinetic model. The process performance was analyzed in terms of degradation efficiency and energy consumption. Almost complete degradation (>98%) of 100 mg/L DCV was achieved after the 40 min reaction under the conditions of 300 mg/L NaCl dosage, nature pH (5–7), and 10 V applied voltage. Finally, the behaviours of degradation were studied. In the process of electrochemical degradation, the synergistic effects of electrode electrolysis, including indirect oxidation of electrolyte, hydroxyl radical, flocculation, and air flotation, removed the dye pollutants from the wastewater. The present study has proved the effectiveness and cleanness of electrochemical treatment for the triphenylmethane dye solution.