Empleo del reactivo de Fenton para la degradación del colorante Tartrazina

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the degradation of Tartrazine dye by using the Fenton´s reagent. We aim to implement an advanced oxidation technology in order to remove the Tartrazine dye, which is widely used in food industry locally, nationally and internationally. Materials and methods. A randomized factorial experimental design was used, with a reactor composed of a glass recipient as a reservoir to store the problem sample and the reaction place for the degradation. Additionally, an internal mixing system was arranged to keep the solution homogeneous during the experimental period (two hours). An initial 100 mg/L concentration of Tartrazine was used, and the solution was kept at a 3.0 pH level. The dye´s degradation was determined by the use of UV/Visible spectrophotometry at a 425 nm wavelenghht. Results. The removal and degradation of the Tartrazine dye was achieved using different combinations of the Fenton´s reagent´s oxidation. The best removal percentage was, however, 99.3 % of the dye, by the combination of the Fenton´s reaction corresponding to 25 mg/L of Fe 3+ and 0,4 %v/v of the Hydrogen peroxide oxidation agent. Conclusion. Fenton´s reaction is adequate and achieves high removal and degradation percentages of the azo Tartrazine dye.