Production of assimilable organic carbon through the use of fenton's reagent

Abstract

Batch experiments were conducted to determine the effects of Fenton's reagent (H2O2/Fe2+) on the production of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) in water. The objectives were to study the effects of pH, H2O2 and Fe2+ doses, and reaction time (kinetic) on AOC increase and to identify optimal conditions for the highes AOC production. Surface water and 2,4 dichlorophenol (2,4DCP) solution were the two types of water samples examined. Three different doses of H2O2 (H2O2:DOC of 0.5:1, 2:1, and 10:1) anf Fe2+ (Fe2+:H2O2 of 0.05:1, 0.1:1, and 0.5:1) and three pH (2,3,4) were used. The results showed that the effects of H2O2 and Fe2+ doses, pH, and reaction time (kinetic) were similar in both types of water samples. AOC production increased with the increase of H2O2 concentration. Among the three pHs, pH 3 provided the highest increase whereas pH 2 offered the least. Higher Fe2+ concentration resulted in a faster rate of AOC production but did not contribute to the increase. The AOC production instantaneously took place in the first few minutes and was almost complete within 10-minute reaction time. The first order model was better than the second order model in describing the kinetics of AOC production. The optimal H2O2:DOC,Fe2+:H2O2, and pH for surface water samples were 10:1, 0.05:1, and pH 3. For synthetic water samples, the best condition was observed at 10:1, 0.5:1, and pH3.