OXIDATIVE DEGRADATION OF AQUEOUS PHENOL EFFLUENT WITH ELECTROGENERATED FENTON''S REAGENT

Abstract

A novel process of an oxidative degradation of aqueous phenol effluent with hydrogen peroxide produced by electroreduction of oxygen dissolved in the effluent was studied. Effects of operational conditions such as pH, cathode potential, ferrous ion concentration and phenol concentration on the degradation rate of phenol were clarified. Phenol was successively degraded to carbon dioxide at pH 3 with higher efficiency rather than the other pH''s. The COD current efficiency at pH 3 was higher than that for the anodic oxidation process of phenol and was more than 60% for complete degradation in the range of 260-2600 ppm of initial COD.