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Catalytic Activity of Cr(VI) in the Degradation of Phenol by H2O2 Under Acidic Conditions

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Abstract

Cr(VI) and phenol are toxic contaminants that need to be treated, and different methods have been researched to simultaneously remove these two contaminants from industrial wastewater. In this study, Cr(VI) was used as a novel Fenton-like catalyst in phenol degradation by H2O2. In the pH range of 3.0‒11.0, the degradation efficiency of phenol decreased with elevated pH. At pH = 3.0, 100 mg/L phenol was effectively degraded by 2 mmol/L Cr(VI) and 20 mmol/L H2O2. At pH = 7.0 and the same conditions as those of pH = 3.0, 79% of 100 mg/L phenol was removed within 6 h, which was an improvement in pH limitation compared with the Fe(II)-mediated Fenton reaction. Quenching experiments indicated that ·OH generated from the catalysis of H2O2 by Cr(V) instead of Cr(VI) was the primary oxidant that degraded phenol. When pyrophosphate was added in the Cr(VI)/H2O2 system, complexes with the Cr(V) intermediate rapidly formed and inhibited H2O2 decomposition, implying that the decomposition of H2O2 to ·OH was catalyzed by Cr(V) instead of Cr(VI). The presence of anions such as chloride and sulfate had insignificant effect on the degradation of phenol. TOC and UV analyses suggest that phenol could not be completely oxidized to CO2 and H2O, and the intermediates identified by high performance liquid chromatography further indicates that maleic acid and benzoquinone were intermediates which may be further degraded into short chain acids, primarily maleic, formic, acetic, and oxalic acids, and eventually into CO2 and H2O. Considering that more than 50% Cr(VI) can also be removed during this process, the Cr(VI)/H2O2 system is more appropriate for the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and phenol contaminants from industrial wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41373114 and 51508384), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (No. 15JCZDJC40200), and the Foundation of Key Lab of Indoor Air Environment Quality Control (Tianjin University).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Qingyou Zeng, Shaoyi Jia & Songhai Wu

  2. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Yufeng Gong

  3. Key Lab of Indoor Air Environment Quality Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Xu Han

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  1. Qingyou Zeng
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  2. Shaoyi Jia
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Correspondence to Xu Han.

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Zeng, Q., Jia, S., Gong, Y. et al. Catalytic Activity of Cr(VI) in the Degradation of Phenol by H2O2 Under Acidic Conditions. Trans. Tianjin Univ. 25, 567–575 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-018-0182-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-018-0182-2

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