Coal mining pyritic waste in Fenton-like processes: Raw and purified catalysts in Reactive Blue 21 dye discoloration

Raw pyritic waste (RPW) from South Brazilian coal deposits and pure pyritic waste (PPW) were used as catalysts for organic dyes discoloration. Samples were characterized for their chemical, morphological, and structural properties. There was a significant content of Fe and S in both samples from the presence of iron sulfide. The average particle size is 10.9 μm for RPW and 7.4 μm for PPW, demonstrating that the beneficiation process could remove the larger quartz particles, interfered in the distribution, and average particle size. Smaller particle sizes promoted a larger surface area for the PPW. The influence of the pyritic waste in dosage, H2O2 concentration, and pH was evaluated, obtaining discoloration values above 95% for 0.5 g/L of pyritic waste, 2 g/L of H2O2, and pH 4.3 for both pyritic wastes. The degradation kinetics of the Reactive Blue 21 using the raw pyritic waste obtained a dye concentration removal above 93% in 90 min, with an iron release of 5.4 mg/L into the solution. Using PPW, the dye concentration removal was over 92% in 40 min, with the iron release of 15.5 mg/L into the solution. Discoloration rate for the PPW sample is 7 times greater than the rate obtained for RPW, indicating a faster decay rate for the purified sample. A decrease in discoloration efficiency is observed for PPW after 6 cycles of use, due to the higher concentration of iron leached into the medium. From the results, it was concluded that the raw pyritic waste has excellent potential for use as a catalyst for Fenton reaction, especially for dye-containing water discoloration, thus demonstrating the excellent applicability potential of pyritc waste in the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater. [Display omitted] •Pyritic waste as iron-based catalyst for dyes discoloration by Fenton process.•Two sample were compared: raw sample and submitted to a purification process.•In the optimal conditions established, the discoloration efficiency was above 98%.•Reuse of pyritic waste maintains the discoloration efficiency for several cycles.•Presence of Fe in solution is a significant factor for process efficiency.