Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye Using Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes

Abstract

This study was focused on the application of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LED) as an alternate source for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), which was used as a model compound. A simple reactor arrangement was made to carry out the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye. The photocatalytic activity of P-25 Degussa TiO2 was evaluated using UV-LED reactor. The decomposition of MB dye in aqueous solution by TiO2 photocatalytic process with the UV-LED was found to be technically feasible. The effects of various parameters such as catalyst loading, initial dye concentration, pH, and addition of H2O2 on decolorization and degradation have been investigated to find the optimum conditions. The complete mineralization of MB dye (3.12 × 10−5 M) was confirmed by chemical oxygen demand analysis. Results demonstrated that the UV-LED/TiO2 process can effectively degrade methylene blue dye with optimum conditions.