Degradation of off-gas toluene in continuous pyrite Fenton system

Degradation of off-gas toluene from a toluene reservoir and a soil vapor extraction (SVE) process was investigated in a continuous pyrite Fenton system. The removal of off-gas toluene from the toluene reservoir was >95% by 8 h in the pyrite Fenton system, while it was ∼97% by 3 h in classic Fenton system and then rapidly decreased to initial level by 8 h. Continuous consumption of low Fe(II) concentration dissolved from pyrite surface (0.05-0.11 mM) was observed in the pyrite Fenton system, which can lead to the effective and successful removal of the gas-phase toluene due to stable production of OH radical (OH). Inhibitor and spectroscopic test results showed that OH was a dominant radical that degraded gas-phase toluene during the reaction. Off-gas toluene from the SVE process was removed by 96% in the pyrite Fenton system, and remnant toluene from rebounding effect was treated by 99%. Main transformation products from toluene oxidation were benzoic acid (31.4%) and CO2 (38.8%) at 4 h, while traces of benzyl alcohol (1.3%) and benzaldehyde (0.7%) were observed. Maximum operation time of continuous pyrite Fenton system was estimated to be 56-61 d and its optimal operation time achieving emission standard was 28.9 d.