Textile Dyes-Polluted Water Detection using Ultrasonic Waves Propagation Method

Abstract

Water pollution is an environmentally problematic issue, mainly in developing countries. It requires a system measurement to detect the time and location when and where the water pollution occurs. This paper reports the utilization of ultrasonic waves for the detection of water pollution. A 1-MHz ultrasonic wave was propagated through the aqueous liquid mixture medium, with the pollutant types of textile dyes, washing detergent, and glycerin, respectively. The phase velocity and acoustic attenuation through medium-propagated ultrasonic waves were measured and correlated to the concentration and types of pollutant substances. The measurement results showed that the propagation velocity was 1450–1717, 1450– 1687, and 1450 –1570 m/s when concentration varied from 0–25 wt%, in the pollutants water samples of textile dyes, washing detergent, and glycerin, respectively. It observed that the phase velocity increased linearly with increasing concentration of pollutant, indicated by R2 values of 0.99432, 0.98771, and 0.99384 for pollutant samples of textile dyes, washing detergent, and glycerin, respectively. In comparison, acoustic attenuation shows a lower correlation to the concentration of pollutants. In conclusion, the phase velocity of the ultrasonic wave has high reliability for detecting water pollution.