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Photochemical defluorination of aqueous perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by Fe0/GAC micro-electrolysis and VUV-Fenton photolysis

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Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is extremely persistent and bioaccumulative in the environment; thus, it is very urgent to investigate an effective and moderate technology to treat the pollution of PFOA. In this study, a process combined iron and granular activated carbon (Fe0/GAC) micro-electrolysis with VUV-Fenton system is employed for the remediation of PFOA. Approximately 50 % PFOA (10 mg L−1) could be efficiently defluorinated under the following conditions: pH 3.0, dosage of Fe 7.5 g L−1, dosage of GAC 12.5 g L−1, and concentration of H2O2 22.8 mmol L−1. Meanwhile, during the process, evident defluorination was observed and the concentration of fluoride ion was eventually 3.23 mg L−1. The intermediates including five shorter-chain perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), i.e., C7, C6, C5, C4, and C3, were also analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) and defluorination mechanisms of PFOA was proposed, which involved photochemical of OH·, direct photolysis (185-nm VUV), and photocatalytic degradation of PFOA in the presence of Fe3+ (254-nm UV).

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2014ZZ0052) and the National Natural Science Fund of China (Foundation of Guangdong Province of China; No. U1401235).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Ecological Remediation for Industrial Agglomeration Area, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Li-hong Zhang, Jian-hua Cheng, Xia You, Xiao-yan Liang & Yong-you Hu

  2. Hunan Key Laboratory of Applied Environmental Photocatalysis, Changsha University, Changsha, 410022, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-hua Cheng & Yong-you Hu

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  1. Li-hong Zhang
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  2. Jian-hua Cheng
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  3. Xia You
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Correspondence to Jian-hua Cheng.

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Responsible editor: Santiago V. Luis

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Zhang, Lh., Cheng, Jh., You, X. et al. Photochemical defluorination of aqueous perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by Fe0/GAC micro-electrolysis and VUV-Fenton photolysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 13531–13542 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6539-y

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