Process modeling and optimization of photocatalytic treatment of dye-polluted effluent using novel polyaniline/graphene oxide-Fe3O4-Ag nanocomposites

This study developed a novel photocatalytic nanocomposite via in situ polymerization with 3 % blend of graphene oxide (GO), magnetite (Fe3O4) and silver nanoparticle (Ag-Nps) from AgNO3. Also, the process applied a new Fenton mediative approach for efficient abatement of toxic dye molecules in textile effluent under an energy-efficient source. The research focused on modeling and optimizing photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye (10 mg/L), using the most influencing variables such as pH (3–7), photocatalyst dosage (10–30 mg/100 mL) and irradiation time (20–90 min). The study demonstrated high photocatalytic efficiency for a 2.27 eV bandgap photocatalyst under 18 W visible LED light irradiation. The selected statistical model at optimized conditions allowed effective treatment of heavily polluted dye effluent from the flax textile industry, assessing efficiency via physicochemical property changes. The result suggested the selected quadratic model whose value of R2Adjusted was close to R2predicted with good correlation and reliability. All experimental variables via the analysis of variance were statistically significant (p-values