Studied on sonocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution

This paper describes experimental results of degradation of Rhodamine B (RB) by vortex scattering ultrasound in aqueous solution. Vortices are produced by a high-speed agitator. The effects of different factors on the degradation of RB solution were studied, such as different reaction container, the initial concentration of RB, stirring speed and ultrasonic frequencies. Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV) was used to measure the absorbance value of RB to assess degradation rate. The optimal experimental condition was three-necked bottle, stirring speed of 700r/min, initial concentration of 10 mg/L and ultrasonic frequency of 40 kHz. The optimal degradation rate of RB can reach 98% within one hour. The combination of ultrasonic irradiation and mechanical stirring was discovered that can degrade the RB efficiently in aqueous solution. The investigation of mechanism demonstrates that the cavitation bubbles produced by agitation play a major role in promoting degradation. COMSOL Multiphysics (Version 5.3a) software was used to simulate this process. And the method of combination of ultrasonic irradiation and mechanical stirring has also been shown to be effective in degrading methylene blue, bromophenol blue and Congo red. So the combination of ultrasonic irradiation and mechanical stirring can be used as an option for treating organic wastewater in the future. This study established a new way to degrade other organic pollutants.