Pretreatment of azo dyes using ozone

Wastewaters produced in textile industrial processes contain organic dyes which are not easily amenable to biological treatment. Pretreatment with ozone is a promising method for oxidation of those dyes to more degradable compounds. The aim of this work is to assess the oxidation kinetics of a specific azo dye used in the textile industry, Orange II. Batch experiments were conducted in order to elucidate the oxidation route of the dye. Oxalate, formate and benzenesulfonate are found to be the oxidation intermediate compounds. A mathematical model which describes the dye elimination, the COD and BOD₅ variation, the amount of ozone reacted and the time evolution of the intermediate compounds has been developed.