Relevance of Toxicity Assessment in Wastewater Treatments: Case Study—Four Fenton Processes Applied to the Mineralization of C.I. Acid Red 14

Abstract

Fenton and Fenton-like processes, both in homogeneous and heterogeneous phases, have been applied to an aqueous solution containing the dye AR 14 in order to study the mineralization and toxicity of the solutions generated after color elimination. The mineralization of AR 14 occurred slower than the decolorization. The Microtox analysis of the treated solutions showed low toxicity intrinsic to the chemicals used in the process rather than the degradation products obtained after the treatment of the dye solution. The dye degradation for the Fenton oxidation process was initially faster than for the Fenton-like process but after a short time, the four processes showed similar degradation yields. All processes have shown good results being the heterogeneous process the most convenient since the pH adjustment is not necessary, the catalyst is recovered and reused and the generation of contaminated sludge is avoided.