Degradation of the herbicide imazapyr by Fenton reactions

The degradation of the herbicide imazapyr has been carried out by three advanced oxidation processes involving iron ions as catalysts: Fentons reagent, photo-Fenton and electro-Fenton. We show that all processes are rapid and efficient. The kinetic rate constant was found to be k=5.4×10⁹ M^–1 s^–1. The mineralization of imazapyr is almost complete using the photo-Fenton and electro-Fenton processes.     

TiO2/Schwertmannite nanocomposites as superior co-catalysts in heterogeneous photo-Fenton process

The heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction is an effective technique in combating organic contaminants for both soil and water remediation,and extensive studies have focused on enhancing its efficiency and reducing its costs.In this work,we developed novel photoFenton catalysts by simply milling commercially available TiO_2(P25)with Schwertmannite(Sh),a natural iron-oxyhydroxysulfate nanomineral.We expect that the photo-generated electrons from TiO_2could continuously migrate to Sh,which then could enhance the separation of electron-hole pairs on TiO_2and accelerate the reduction of Fe(III)to Fe(II)on Sh,leading to high degradation efficiency of the target organic contaminants.SEM and TEM results showed the distribution of TiO_2on Sh surface for the nanocomposites(TiO_2/Sh).Under simulated sunlight irradiation,the much higher content of Fe(II)was determined on TiO_2/Sh than on Sh via a common method in the iron ore,and the consumption of H_2O_2and the production of·OH were more significant in the TiO_2/Sh system than those in the TiO_2and Sh systems.These results well support our hypothesis that the photo-generated electrons could migrate from TiO_2to Sh on the composites,and can also explain the much higher degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B(RhB)in the TiO_2/Sh system.Besides,TiO_2/Sh had lower Fe dissolution as compared with Sh,and retained high catalytic stability after four repeated cycles.Above merits of the TiO_2/Sh composites,in combining with their simple synthesis method and low-cost property,indicated that they should have promising applications as heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysts.     

Hydroxyl radical concentration profile in photo-Fenton oxidation process: generation and consumption of hydroxyl radicals during the discoloration of azo-dye Orange II

Dynamic behaviors of hydroxyl (OH) radical generation and consumption in photo-Fenton oxidation process were investigated by measuring OH radical concentration during the discoloration of azo-dye Orange II. The effects of operating parameters for photo-Fenton discoloration, i.e. dosages of H₂O₂ and Fe, initial dye concentration, solution pH and UV irradiation, on the generation and consumption of OH radicals playing the main role in advanced oxidation processes were extensively studied. The scavenger probe or trapping technique in which coumarin is scavenger of OH radical was applied to estimate OH radical concentration in the photoreactor during the photo-Fenton discoloration process. The OH radical generation was enhanced with increasing the dosages of Fenton regents, H₂O₂ and Fe. At the initial stage of photo-Fenton discoloration of Orange II, the OH radical concentration rapidly increased (Phase-I) and the OH radical concentration decreased after reaching of OH radical concentration at maximum value (Phase-II). The decrease in OH radical concentration started when the complete discoloration of Orange II was nearly achieved and the H₂O₂ concentration became rather low. The dynamic behavior of OH radical concentration during the discoloration of Orange II was found to be strongly linked with the change in H₂O₂ concentration. The generation of OH radical was maximum at solution pH of 3.0 and decreased with an increase of solution pH. The OH radical generation rate in the Fenton Process was rather slower than that in the photo-Fenton process.     

Hybrid microbial electrolytic/UV system for highly efficient organic pollutants removal

This study for the first time proposed an efficient microbial electrolyte/UV system for Methyl Orange decomposition. With an external applied voltage of 0.2 V and cathode aeration of20 mL/min, H_2O_2 could be in-situ generated from two-electron reduction of oxygen in cathode, reaching to 8.1 mg/L in 2 hr and continued to increase. The pollutant removal efficiency of approximate 94.7% was achieved at initial neutral pH, with the activation of ·OH in the presence of UV illumination. Although the nature of its guiding principles remain on the vista of practical exploration, this proof-of-concept study provides an alternative operation pattern of solar–microbial hybrid technology for future wastewater treatment from a basic but multidisciplinary view.     

Simultaneous E. coli inactivation and NOM degradation in river water via photo-Fenton process at natural pH in solar CPC reactor. A new way for enhancing solar disinfection of natural water

Bacteria inactivation and natural organic matter oxidation in river water was simultaneously conducted via photo-Fenton reaction at “natural” pH (6.5) containing 0.6 mg L⁻¹ of Fe³⁺ and 10 mg L⁻¹ of H₂O₂. The experiments were carried out by using a solar compound parabolic collector on river water previously filtered by a slow sand filtration system and voluntarily spiked with Escherichia coli. Fifty five percent of 5.3 mg L⁻¹ of dissolved organic carbon was mineralized whereas total disinfection was observed without re-growth after 24 h in the dark.     

Method of removal of volatile organic compounds by using wet scrubber coupled with photo-Fenton reaction - Preventing emission of by-products

The photo-Fenton reaction was applied as a novel method for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the gas phase, and its effectiveness was experimentally examined. In conventional VOCs removal methods using a photocatalyst or ozone, VOCs are oxidized in the gas phase. Therefore, incompletely oxidized intermediates, which may have adverse effects on health, are likely to contaminate the treated air. On the other hand, in the VOCs removal method developed in this study, because the VOCs are oxidized in the liquid phase by the photo-Fenton reaction, any incompletely oxidized intermediates produced are confined to the liquid phase. As a result, the contamination of the treated air by these harmful intermediates can be prevented. Using a semi-batch process, it was found that the removal efficiency for toluene in a one-pass test (residence time of 17 s) was 61%, for an inlet toluene gas concentration of 930 ppbv, an initial iron ion concentration of 20 mg L⁻¹, and an initial hydrogen peroxide concentration of 630 mg L⁻¹. The removal efficiency was almost constant as long as H₂O₂ was present in the solution. Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the absence of any incompletely oxidized intermediates in the treated air.     

Formaldehyde degradation in the presence of methanol by photo-Fenton process

In this study, the photo-Fenton process for the degradation of formaldehyde was investigated in lab-scale experiments. Results showed that methanol, the additive chemical in a commercial product of formaldehyde, was also decomposed during the formaldehyde oxidation reaction. The oxidation reaction was in three-stages. The first stage was the Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2) reaction in which both formaldehyde and methanol were swiftly decomposed. The second and the third stages exerted a somewhat less rapid degradation of both chemicals. The first stage of the oxidation reaction can be discussed by means of the initial average rate and the third stage or Fe(3+)/H(2)O(2) stage was found to follow the first order reaction rate. The reaction was influenced by the initial pH, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the amount of ferrous ions. The initial pH at 2.6 provided the highest removal efficiencies in this system. In addition, the competition between formaldehyde and methanol was investigated and described as r(m)/r(f), where r(m) and r(f) were the initial rates of methanol and formaldehyde, respectively. The addition of methanol exhibited a competitive effect on formaldehyde degradation. The removal of formaldehyde decreased with increasing methanol concentration. At the high concentrations of methanol, the oxidation reaction of formaldehyde was repressed. It appears that all values of r(m)/r(f) obtained from the experiments are lower than the theoretical values.     

Fenton试剂在污水处理上的发展与展望

为了进一步将Fenton试剂技术应用在污水处理上，通过查阅中外文献。详细介绍了Fenton试剂的发展历史和目前在污水处理上的应用，给出了公认的反应机理。最终，讨论并总结了Fenton试剂在污水处理上的未来发展方向。     

日光/H_2O_2/草酸铁体系对垃圾渗滤液深度处理的试验研究

以草酸铁络合物/H2O2作光氧化剂,利用日光对垃圾渗滤生化出水进行了光氧化降解试验。结果表明,在溶液的初始体系pH=3.0,H2O2投加量为460mg/L,Fe3+质量浓度为20mg/L条件下,反应60min后,CODCr去除率可达80%以上;溶液初始体系的pH、H2O2和Fe3+的投加量及废水的水质对光解过程有显著影响,而且在太阳光照射下,CODCr去除率比紫外光照射下高。研究表明,在一定试验条件下,用日光/H2O2/草酸铁体系对城市垃圾渗滤液处理效果较好,可作为垃圾渗滤液的深度处理。     

Solar photocatalytic treatment of landfill leachate using a solid mineral by-product as a catalyst

The treatment of municipal solid waste landfill leachate in a pilot plant made up of solar compound parabolic collectors, using a solid industrial titanium by-product (WTiO₂) containing TiO₂ and Fe(III) as a photocatalyst, was investigated. In the study evidence was found showing that the degradation performed with WTiO₂ was mainly due to the Fe provided by this by-product, instead of TiO₂. However, although TiO₂ had very little effect by itself, a synergistic effect was observed between Fe and TiO₂. The application of WTiO₂, which produced coupled photo-Fenton and heterogeneous catalysis reactions, achieved a surprisingly high depuration level (86% of COD removal), higher than that reached by photo-Fenton using commercial FeSO₄ (43%) in the same conditions. After the oxidation process the biodegradability and toxicity of the landfill leachate were studied. The results showed that the leachate biodegradability was substantially increased, at least in the first stages of the process, and again that WTiO₂ was more efficient than FeSO₄ in terms of increasing biodegradability.