Arroyave Rojas, Joan AmirRodríguez Gaviria, Edna MargaritaBarón Aristizábal, Carlos AlbertoMoreno Salazar, Cristian Camilo2013-04-012013-04-0120121909-0455http://hdl.handle.net/10567/840Introduction. This paper introduces the use of an advanced oxidation technique to remove and mineralize the ponceau red dye, which is widely used in food industries locally, nationally and internationally. Objective. To evaluate the degradation and the mineralization of the ponceau red dye, by the use of the Fenton reagent. Materials and methods. A reagent consisting of a glass bucket which served as a reservoir for the sample and for the degradation. Additionally, an internal mixture system was installed to keep the solution homogeneous during the experimentation period, which took two (2) hours. An initial concentration of 100 mg/L of the ponceau red dye was used, and the solution to be treated was kept as a pH of 3,0. The degradation of the dye was determined by the use of UV/Visible spectrophotometry at a 505 nm. Of wavelength and the mineralization was determined by the appearing of sulfates as a by-product of the degradation at 420nm of wavelength, according with the Sulfates parameter taken from the normalized methods to analyze water and waste water. Results. The degradation and the mineralization of the ponceau red dye was achieved by the use of several combinations of the Fenton reagent. Additionally, the best percentages of removal and mineralization of the dye obtained were 97,8 and 86,2%, respectively, by means of the combination of the Fenton reaction that corresponded to 10 mg/L of Fe 3+and 0,10 %v/v of the oxidation agent hydrogen peroxide. Conclusion. The Fenton reaction is adequate to degrade and mineralize the ponceau red dye and reaches high removal and mineralization percentages of that dye.esCorporación Universitaria LasallistaÁrea Metropolitana del Valle de AburráMineralizaciónColorante rojo punzóFotofentonColorante azoicoPeróxido de hidrógeno (H2O2)Industria alimenticiaContaminaciónContaminación del aguaArticle