Continuous combined Fenton's oxidation and biodegradation for the treatment of pentachlorophenol-contaminated water

The roles of wavelength in the gaseous toluene removal with OH from UV activated Fenton reagent

The UV lights of different wavelengths were performed in boosting hydroxyl radicals (OH) generation from traditional Fenton reagent for the gaseous toluene removal. The Fenton, UV₂₅₄/Fenton and UV₃₆₅/Fenton processes were first adopted to eliminate gaseous toluene through the bubble column reactor, respectively. The stable toluene removal efficiency in 60 min was 85.31% in the UV₃₆₅/Fenton process, which was higher than other processes. The gaseous toluene was mainly oxidized into CO₂ rather than other gaseous intermediates in the UV₃₆₅/Fenton process. For UV₃₆₅/Fenton process, the GC-MS tests were carried out to figure out the aqueous intermediates of gaseous toluene removal. The OH concentration in the UV₃₆₅/Fenton process was the highest among all the parallel tests via the EPR experiments and the quantificational measurements with coumarin as the probe. The iron ion in the aqueous solution was systematically evaluated with the experiments proceeding. The evolution of iron ion in the aqueous solution indicated that the fast reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ was assisted with 365 nm UV rather than 254 nm UV, which played a key point in the high gaseous toluene removal efficiency. This study demonstrated that the combination of UV₃₆₅ irradiation and Fenton in the wet scrubbing reactor performed a synergistic effect on the gaseous toluene removal.

Degradation of chlorophenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates, two representative textile chemicals, in water by advanced oxidation processes: the state of the art on transformation products and toxicity

Advanced oxidation processes based on the generation of reactive species including hydroxyl radicals are viable options in eliminating a wide array of refractory organic contaminants in industrial effluents. The assessment of transformation products and toxicity should be, however, the critical point that would allow the overall efficiency of advanced oxidation processes to be better understood and evaluated since some transformation products could have an inhibitory effect on certain organisms. This article reviews the most recent studies on transformation products and toxicity for evaluating advanced oxidation processes in eliminating classes of compounds described as "textile chemicals" from aqueous matrices and poses questions in need of further investigation. The scope of this paper is limited to the scientific studies with two classes of textile chemicals, namely chlorophenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates, whose use in textile industry is a matter of debate due to health risks to humans and harm to the environment. The article also raises the critical question: What is the state of the art knowledge on relationships between transformation products and toxicity?

Pretreatment of 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) producing wastewater using a combined zero-valent iron (ZVI) reduction and Fenton oxidation process

A combined zero-valent iron (ZVI) reduction and Fenton oxidation process was tested for the pretreatment of 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) producing wastewater. Operating conditions were optimized and overall performance of the combined process was evaluated. For ZVI process, almost complete reduction of nitroaromatic compounds was observed at empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 8h. For Fenton process, the optimal pH, H₂O₂ to Fe(II) molar ratio, H₂O₂ dosage and hydraulic retention time (HRT) were found to be 3.0, 15, 0.216 mol/L and 5h, respectively. After pretreatment by the combined ZVI-Fenton process under the optimal conditions, aromatic organic compound removal was as high as 77.2%, while the majority of COD remained to be further treated by sequent biological process. The combined anaerobic-aerobic process consisted of an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) and a moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was operated for 3 months, fed with ZVI-Fenton effluent. The results revealed that the coupled ZVI-Fenton-ABR-MBBR system was significantly efficient in terms of correcting the effluent's main parameters of relevance, mainly aromatic compounds concentration, COD concentration, color and acute toxicity. These results indicate that the combined ZVI-Fenton process offers bright prospects for the pretreatment of wastewater containing nitroaromatic compounds.

Degradation of chlorophenoxy herbicides by coupled Fenton and biological oxidation

A combined treatment for the degradation of the chlorophenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and MCPA in water by means of Fenton and biological oxidation has been studied. The chemical oxidation step was necessary to achieve an efficient removal of these pollutants due to their toxicity and low biodegradability. Aqueous herbicide solutions (180mgL(-1)) were subjected to Fenton oxidation upon different H2O2 doses (from the theoretical stoichiometric amount referred to initial COD to 20% of this value). The toxicity and biodegradability tests of the Fenton effluents suggested that the ones resulting upon treatment with 80% and 60% of stoichiometric H2O2 were the optimal for subsequent biological treatment dealing with 2,4-D and MCPA, respectively. These effluents were treated in a sequencing batch reactor achieving nearly 90% conversion of organic matter measured as COD.

Immobilization of horseradish peroxidase by electrospun fibrous membranes for adsorption and degradation of pentachlorophenol in water

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is successfully in situ encapsulated into the poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/PEO-PPO-PEO (F108) electrospun fibrous membranes (EFMs) by emulsion electrospinning. The adsorption and degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by HRP-EFMs are investigated. The experimental results show that the sorption kinetic of PCP on EFMs follows the pseudo-second-order model, and the sorption capacity is as high as 44.69 mg g(-1). The sorption mechanisms of EFMs for PCP can be explained by hydrogen bonding interactions, hydrophobic interactions and π-π bonding interactions. Profiting from the strong adsorption, the removal of PCP can be dramatically enhanced by the interaction of adsorbed PCP and HRP on the surface of EFMs. For PCP degradation, the optimal pH values for free HRP and immobilized HRP are 4 and 2-4, respectively. As pH>4.7, no adsorption and degradation are observed due to the deprotonation of PCP. The removal percentages reach 83% and 47% for immobilized HRP and free HRP, respectively, at 25 ± 1°C. The presence of humic acid can inhibit the activity of HRP and decreases the adsorption capacity of PCP because of competitive adsorption. The operational and storage stability of immobilized HRP are highly improved through emulsion electrospinning.

Anodic Fenton process assisted by a microbial fuel cell for enhanced degradation of organic pollutants

The electro-Fenton process is efficient for degradation of organic pollutants, but it suffers from the high operating costs due to the need of power investment. Here, a new anodic Fenton system is developed for energy-saving and efficient treatment of organic pollutants by incorporating microbial fuel cell (MFC) into an anodic Fenton process. This system is composed of an anodic Fenton reactor and a two-chamber air-cathode MFC. The power generated from a two-chamber MFC is used to drive the anodic Fenton process for Acid Orange 7 (AO7) degradation through accelerating in situ generation of Fe(2+) from sacrificial iron. The kinetic results show that the MFC-assisted anodic Fenton process system had a significantly higher pseudo-first-order rate constant than those for the chemical Fenton methods. The electrochemical analysis reveals that AO7 did not hinder the corrosion of iron. The anodic Fenton process was influenced by the MFC performance. It was also found that increasing dissolved oxygen in the cathode improved the MFC power density, which in turn enhanced the AO7 degradation rate. These clearly demonstrate that the anodic Fenton process could be integrated with MFC to develop a self-sustained system for cost-effective and energy-saving electrochemical wastewater treatment.

Highly efficient degradation of ofloxacin by UV/Oxone/Co2+ oxidation process

INTRODUCTION

In this study, UV/Oxone/Co(2+) oxidation process was applied to degradation of ofloxacin (OFL) in the presence of Co(2+) as the catalytic and Oxone as the oxidant. The operation parameters including pH, temperature, dosages of reagents, and reaction time were studied in detail.

RESULTS

The results showed that the optimum conditions for the UV/Oxone/Co(2+) processes were determined as follows: temperature = 25°C, pH = 5.0, [Oxone] = 0.6 mmol/L, [Oxone]/[Co(2+)] = 1,000, and reaction time = 60 min. Under these conditions, 100% of the OFL degraded. The kinetics was also studied, and degradation of OFL by the UV/Oxone/Co(2+) process could be described by first-order kinetics.

CONCLUSIONS

Mineralization of the process was investigated by measuring the total organic carbon (TOC), and the TOC decreased by 87.0% after 60 min. This process could be used as a pretreatment method for wastewater containing ofloxacin.