Decolourisation of Reactive Orange 16 by Activated Carbon and Copper Oxide Catalysts Supported by Activated Carbon

Decolourisation of reactive orange 16 (ro16) dye by hno3-modified activated carbons (acs) and a copper oxide catalyst supported by modified ac (cu-ac) were investigated. the percentage of colour removal for ac modified with 12 m hno3 acid (19%) was found to be lower than that of ac modified using 4 m and 8 m hno3, which are 23% and 22%, respectively. the cu-ac, prepared by impregnating the 4 m hno3-modified ac with copper nitrate solution for a 5 wt% of cu followed by calcination at 500‹c in an n2 atmosphere, shows the highest percentage of removal (63%) compared to the modified and the heat-treated modified ac. decolourisation of ro16 by the cu catalyst increases in the presence of h2o2 and uv-light. the decolourisation efficiency of the catalyst under four different conditions was observed to have the following order: cu-ac/h2o2/uv > cu-ac/h2o2 > cu-acn/uv . cu-ac.