Factors influencing the photodegradation of acid orange 8 by nitrocellulose membranes

Abstract

Nitrocellulose membranes (NCM) have broad application prospects in the field of organic wastewater treatment. In this research, acid orange 8 was used as the target pollutant, and the effects of factors, such as concentration, light intensity, anions, and cations, on the photodegradation of acid orange 8 were investigated under simulated sunlight by NCM. The results showed that the degradation rate constant of acid orange 8 in the NCM system was 1.94 × 10−3 min−1, which was 27.3 times that in the pure water. The photodegradation rate increases with decreasing concentration in the range of 20–120 μmol/L for acid orange 8. The photodegradation rate increased with increasing NCM area. The degradation effect of acid orange 8 increased with the increase of light intensity. Acidic conditions were favorable for the degradation of acid orange 8. The optimal conditions for photodegradation of acid orange 8 were the solution concentration of 20 μmol/L, membrane area of 17.35 cm2, light intensity of 481 μmol/(m2s), and pH value of 3.0. The effect of different components in water on the photodegradation of acid orange 8 was different. Ca2+, Mg2+, and NO3− could promote the photodegradation of acid orange 8, while CO32- could inhibit the photodegradation. The effect of degrading acid orange 8 by NCM under light conditions is obvious, which can provide a new method for the removal of acid orange 8 in wastewater.