Solar-Fenton heterogeneous for removal of tartrazine yellow dye using zeolite Y-Fe as catalyst

The heterogeneous solar-Fenton process is an ecological and promising strategy for removing hazardous pollutants in aqueous media. Therefore, this study aimed to prepare and characterize a heterogeneous solid iron catalyst supported by zeolite Y to degrade tartrazine yellow (TY) food coloring under natural sunlight. The catalyst was produced by wet ion exchange and characterized by several techniques. The catalyst efficiency was evaluated through the degradation of the TY dye in a batch mode with the evaluation of some of the main operational parameters. The presence of iron in zeolite Y was confirmed by XRD, TEM, and EDX techniques and by reducing specific area and pore volume after ion exchange. The FTIR proved the occurrence of an ion exchange process. The oxidative system formed by the Fe-Y catalyst and natural sunlight was highly efficient, with the removal of approximately 98% in 120 min under the experimental conditions: [TY] 0 = 10 mg L −1 , [H 2 O 2 ] 0 = 200 g L −1 , Dosage of Y-Fe = 1.5 g L −1 and pH = 3.0. It was possible to recover the catalyst and use it in five reuse cycles, showing the stability and application potential in heterogeneous solar-Fenton systems with sunlight. The toxicity reduction was evaluated through the COD and TOC parameters and ecotoxicological tests against the bioindicators Artemia salina and Lactuca sativa , showing the efficiency of the proposed process.