The 5th International Conference on Advances in Civil and Ecological Engineering Research (ACEER 2023)

Abstract: Synthetic dyes, mostly toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic, are the largest colorants used in various industries, including textiles. If improper treatment occurs, the dye effluent from these industrial wastewaters could pose a serious environmental concern and public health awareness. Because of the complex aromatic molecular structure of synthetic dyes, most of them are highly resistant to biodegradation. Conventional biological treatment processes are no longer adequate for treating dye effluents. The implementation of wastewater discharge regulations promotes research on improving available technology and developing effective treatment processes to comply with increasingly stringent effluent standards. Fenton’s and activated persulfate processes are the advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) based on the production of oxidative active radicals, mainly hydroxyl radicals (HO•) and sulfate radicals (SO₄^–•) during the catalytic reaction. These processes have an excellent reputation for treating recalcitrant organic compounds. The selection of a suitable catalyst and activator is of great importance. This presentation outlines the prospect of using Fe⁰ aggregates, Fe²⁺-rich minerals (Schorl, biotite, Mackinawite, and pyrite), and LaMO₃ (M = Co, Fe) Perovskites as the highly efficient catalyst in activating Fenton’s reaction and persulfate for the treatment of textile dyes in aqueous solution. In addition, the use of ultrasound, heat, and UV₂₅₄/VUV₁₈₅ to enhance the robustness of these processes on the catalytic degradation of dyes is discussed.

Biography: Distinguished Professor Chih-Huang Weng is the Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at I-Shou University, Taiwan. He also served as Vice-President of North Kaohsiung Community University, Taiwan. Prof. Weng received his MS and Ph.D. degrees in 1990 and 1994, respectively, from the Department of Civil Engineering of The University of Delaware, USA. He is serving as the Editor of Water (MDPI) and Editor of Environmental Geochemistry and Health (Springer), and on the Editorial Board Panel Member of Coloration Technology (Wiley). He has also served as a Guest Editor of SCI journals, such as Agricultural Water Management (Elsevier) and Environmental ScPrience and Pollution Research (Springer). He has also organized and chaired several international conferences. Professor Weng was listed in the World’s Top 2% of Scientists (Stanford University, 2021 and 2022). His main research interests focus on using advanced oxidation processes and adsorption to treat wastewater and bacteria inactivation, groundwater modeling, and application of electrokinetic technologies to soil remediation/sludge treatment/activated carbon regeneration.