Kinetics of Dye Oxidation in a Novel Porous Electrode Ozonator

Comparative studies on oxidation kinetics of a high molecular weight dye are conducted in a Porous Electrode Ozonator (PEO) design developed in this research and a conventional ozonator (CO). Results showed that the initial dye decolorization reaction is rapid and occurs in the liquid film, and the reaction rate constants are not significantly different for PEO and CO. However, the dye decolorization rate was higher in the PEO due to the higher mass transfer rate in the PEO for the mass transfer limited dye decolorization reaction regime. A higher rate of reaction between the byproducts and ozone and a higher rate of byproduct mineralization in the PEO are concluded to be due to possible involvement of short-lived radical species available for reaction and a different mechanism of reaction between the primary byproducts and the ozone in a PEO.