Reduction of Phenol Levels in Textile Wastewater Using ZnO-NiFe2O4 Photocatalysts with Variations in Mass and Contact Time

Abstract

The textile industry in Indonesia has an important role in the economy, but the presence of phenol is also one of the main causes of environmental pollution. Therefore, innovative solutions are needed to reduce this problem. By using Zinc Acetate Dihydrate you can obtain ZnO compounds, which are included in the category of photocatalyst compounds. ZnO has the potential as a catalyst in chemical reactions to break down organic and inorganic compounds that are harmful to the environment. Apart from that, this research also uses the NiFe₂O₄ compound synthesized from NiCl₂ and FeCl₃ as a doping agent which can reduce the ZnO band gap, thereby increasing the efficiency of photodegradation of dangerous compounds such as phenol. The research methods used consisted of ZnO synthesis and ZnO-NiFe₂O₄ synthesis and photocatalyst activation testing with variations in contact time of 0, 60, 120, 180 minutes and variations in the weight of the ZnO-NiFe2O4 photocatalyst of 0.5; 0.75; 1 gram. The characteristics of the resulting ZnO-Zeolite show a crystal size of 24.98 nm and absorption bands of Zn-O/Ni-O and Fe-O at wave numbers of 455 cm-1 and 580 cm-1. To determine the effect of the effectiveness of the ZnO-zeolite photocatalyst on textile liquid waste, pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) analysis and reduction in the concentration of phenolic compounds were carried out. Results Reduction of TSS value from 235 mg/L to 25.3 mg/L with a reduction percentage reaching 89.3% and degradation of phenol content from 3.625 mg/L to 0.067 mg/L which occurred at a mass variation of 0.75 grams and a contact time of 180 minutes.