Amirreza Talaiekhozani - Department of Civil Engineering, Jami Institute of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
Ali Mohammad Amani - Center of Applied Nanobiophotonics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Farhad Banisharif - Department of Research and Development, Nirouchlor, Isfahan, Iran
Maryam Bazrafshan - Department Chemical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Background: Wastewater contaminated with dyes such as Reactive Blue 203 can produce a lot of health problems if it is released into the environment without a suitable treatment. Although there are several studies on dye removal from wastewater, removal of Reactive Blue 203 has not been investigated by hybrid methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the removal of Reactive Blue 203 from aqueous solution, using combined processes of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, Fe(VI) oxidation process, and UV radiation. Methods: The removal of dye from aqueous solution using ZnO nanoparticles, Fe(VI) oxidation process, and UV radiation was individually evaluated. Then, the results of combined methods were compared. Hydraulic retention time (HRT), pH, and temperature were the most important factors which were investigated in this study. Results: ZnO nanoparticles, Fe(VI) oxidation process, and UV radiation were able to remove 97%, 71%, and 47% of the dye in the optimal conditions, respectively. Also, the removal of dye using combination of Fe(VI) oxidation process/UV radiation, ZnO nanoparticles/Fe(VI) oxidation process, and ZnO nanoparticles/UV radiation under optimum conditions was 100%. It seems that the combined methods were significantly more effective than the methods alone for removal of dye from water. Conclusion: UV radiation alone is a simple and efficient method for removal of Reactive Blue 203 from water. Removal of Reactive Blue 203 using Fe(VI) oxidation process can be completed in a fraction of second, therefore, it can be categorized as a rapid reaction.

Wastewater, Ultraviolet rays, Zinc oxide, Adsorption