Issue 18, 2015

Enhancement of the advanced Fenton process by weak magnetic field for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol

Abstract

A weak magnetic field (WMF) was employed to enhance the degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by the advanced Fenton process (Fe0/H2O2) in this study. Although the oxidation rates of 4-NP by Fe0/H2O2 and WMF–Fe0/H2O2 dropped sharply upon increasing the initial pH (pHini), the introduction of WMF could remarkably improve the 4-NP degradation by Fe0/H2O2 at pHini ranging from 3.0 to 6.0. The quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments verified that the hydroxyl radical was the primary oxidant responsible for the 4-NP degradation at pHini 4.0 and the cumulative concentration of HO˙ in the WMF–Fe0/H2O2 system was about 3-fold that in Fe0/H2O2 system. The superimposed WMF increased the generation of HO˙ in the Fe0/H2O2 process by accelerating the Fe0 corrosion and FeII generation, which was the limiting step of the Fe0/H2O2 process. The application of WMF largely enhanced the mineralization of 4-NP but it did not change the 4-NP degradation pathways, which were proposed based on the degradation products detected with LC-MS/MS. The optimum intensity of the magnetic field for 4-NP oxidation by WMF–Fe0/H2O2 was determined to be 20 mT. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to analyze the experimental variables and it was found that lower pH and higher Fe0 and H2O2 dosages were beneficial for 4-NP degradation by WMF–Fe0/H2O2. Among the three factors (pHini, Fe0 dosage, and H2O2 dosage) investigated, pHini was the most important factor affecting the performance of the WMF–Fe0/H2O2 process. The WMF–Fe0/H2O2 technology provides a new alternative for scientists working in the field of water treatment.

Graphical abstract: Enhancement of the advanced Fenton process by weak magnetic field for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Dec 2014
Accepted
19 Jan 2015
First published
19 Jan 2015

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 13357-13365

Author version available

Enhancement of the advanced Fenton process by weak magnetic field for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol

X. Xiong, Y. Sun, B. Sun, W. Song, J. Sun, N. Gao, J. Qiao and X. Guan, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 13357 DOI: 10.1039/C4RA16318D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements