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Do Thi My Phuong, Lang Hiep Phong, Nguyen Xuan Loc. 2026: Heterogeneous Fenton treatment of textile wastewater using rGO/nZVI: Batch and flow column evaluation. Water Science and Engineering, 19(1): 75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.11.002
Citation: Do Thi My Phuong, Lang Hiep Phong, Nguyen Xuan Loc. 2026: Heterogeneous Fenton treatment of textile wastewater using rGO/nZVI: Batch and flow column evaluation. Water Science and Engineering, 19(1): 75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.11.002
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Heterogeneous Fenton treatment of textile wastewater using rGO/nZVI: Batch and flow column evaluation

doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.11.002

  • a. Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment and Natural Resources, Can Tho University, Can Tho 900000, Viet Nam;

  • b. Department of Environmental Science, College of Environment and Natural Resources, Can Tho University, Can Tho 900000, Viet Nam

  • Received Date: 2025-06-29
  • Accepted Date: 2025-10-12
    • Available Online: 2026-03-28
    Abstract
  • Textile wastewater contains recalcitrant dyes and organics that are difficult to degrade via conventional treatments. This study evaluated the reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) composite (rGO/nZVI) for treating real textile wastewater in batch and continuous systems. The rGO/nZVI catalyst was synthesized and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer—Emmett—Teller (BET) analyses, confirming uniform iron dispersion, active functional groups, and a mesoporous structure. Batch experiments under varying pH (3.0-5.5), catalyst dosages (150-1 000 mg/L), and H2O2 concentrations (150-1 000 mg/L) identified optimal conditions (pH of 3, 750 mg/L of rGO/nZVI, 1 000 mg/L of H2O2, and a reaction time of 110 min), achieving 81.5% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (from 450.8 mg/L to 83.5 mg/L) and approximately 90.0% color reduction (from 355-473 platinum—cobalt units (PCU) to 31.9-38.5 PCU). The packed-bed column tests achieved 77.4% COD removal (from 452.4 mg/L to 102.3 mg/L) and approximately 88.0% color reduction (from 362-488 PCU to 42.1-51.8 PCU), demonstrating stable continuous performance. Reusability tests demonstrated catalytic durability over five cycles, with COD removal decreasing from 94.6% to 51.4% and color removal from 96.2% to 65.1%. Overall, rGO enhanced nZVI dispersion, stability, and catalytic activity, supporting rGO/nZVI as a scalable advanced oxidation technology for textile wastewater treatment.

     

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