Eco Factor: New process to remove cancer-causing dyes from wastewater and reuse it to color plastics and rubber.
Azo dyes, a commonly used dye to color fabrics can cause cancer if released into the environment with wastewater. While manufacturers mostly use adsorption techniques to destroy the dye molecules, the process is both expensive and wastes the dye which could be reused. A group of Chinese researchers from Tongji University in Shanghai have developed a cheap and ecofriendly method to extract dyes from wastewater and reuse it to color plastics.
The new hybrid process makes use of sodium carbonate and calcium chloride to precipitate dyes as a dye-calcium carbonate hybrid that can be easily reused to color plastics and rubber. During tests, the spectrophotometry measurements revealed that the process removed over 98% of the dyes.
The technique can help absorb about seven times more dye than conventional adsorbents, thus helping the team get more dye from wastewater. The team tested the water resistance of plastics colored with the hybrid and found that no color was released even after 24 hours’ immersion in water.
Image Courtesy: RSC
Via: RSC
