| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4428972 | Science of The Total Environment | 2013 | 10 Pages |
The objective of this work was to compare the effectiveness of conventional technologies (adsorption on activated carbon, AC, and ozonation) and technologies based on advanced oxidation processes, AOPs, (UV/H2O2, O3/AC, O3/H2O2) to remove phthalates from aqueous solution (ultrapure water, surface water and wastewater). Diethyl phthalate (DEP) was chosen as a model pollutant because of its high water solubility (1080 mg/L at 293 K) and toxicity. The activated carbons showed a high adsorption capacity to adsorb DEP in aqueous solution (up to 858 mg/g), besides the adsorption mechanism of DEP on activated carbon is governed by dispersive interactions between π electrons of its aromatic ring with π electrons of the carbon graphene planes. The photodegration process showed that the pH solution does not significantly affect the degradation kinetics of DEP and the first-order kinetic model satisfactorily fitted the experimental data. It was observed that the rate of decomposition of DEP with the O3/H2O2 and O3/AC systems is faster than that with only O3. The technologies based on AOPs (UV/H2O2, O3/H2O2, O3/AC) significantly improve the degradation of DEP compared to conventional technologies (O3, UV). AC adsorption, UV/H2O2, O3/H2O2, and O3/AC showed a high yield to remove DEP; however, the disadvantage of AC adsorption is its much longer time to reach maximum removal. The best system to treat water (ultrapure and natural) polluted with DEP is the O3/AC one since it achieved the highest DEP degradation and TOC removal, as well as the lower water toxicity.
► Activated carbons showed a high adsorption capacity (up to 858 mg/g) to remove DEP. ► The pH solution did not significantly affect the photodegradation kinetics of DEP. ► The O3/H2O2 and O3/AC systems were more efficient than O3 to degrade DEP. ► The generation of HO• from O3 was enhanced by ACs, mainly by those of basic nature. ► O3/AC system was the most efficient to remove DEP from ultrapure and natural water.
