Photo-Fenton oxidation of dichlorophene in aqueous solution: kinetics investigation and effects of operational parameters

Dichlorophene (DCP), a widely detected contaminant in the aquatic environment, was removed under the UV-254 nm irradiations based on advanced oxidation processes. The removal efficiency of DCP from water was enhanced by coupling UV with oxidant (H 2 O 2 ) and/or catalyst (Fe 2+ ), that is, UV/H 2 O 2 and UV/H 2 O 2 /Fe 2+ owing to the • OH radical generation in the system, which is chiefly responsible for degradation of DCP. Removal of DCP was maximum, that is, 96% degradation after 50 min UV irradiation by UV/H 2 O 2 /Fe 2+ at pH 3, with apparent rate constant (k app ) of 0.058 min –1 . The degradation rate of DCP increased with the increasing initial concentrations of DCP, represented by 0.011, 0.018 and 0.023 ppm min −1 at using 3, 4 and 5 ppm initial concentrations of DCP, respectively. The presence of NO 3 − and HCO 3 − deteriorated the degradation proficiency of DCP from 96% to 86% and 74%, respectively, attributed to scavenging of • OH radical.