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Kinetic studies of the degradation of parabens in aqueous solution by ozone oxidation

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Abstract

Ozone degradation of a mixture containing methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and benzylparaben was carried out in aqueous solution. The degradation followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and occurs with two ozonation stages with the observed rate constants of second stage ozonation, k obs2, being higher than the observed rate constants in first stage, k obs1. The k obs1 of parabens was found to increase exponentially whilst k obs2 was found to maximize at 35°C. Both k obs1 and k obs2 were found to decrease exponentially with respect to the initial concentration of parabens. Both pH and ozone dose showed positive effects on the rate of degradation. It was also observed that an ozone dose of 0.67 g/h resulted in the removal of 99% of parabens in 12 min, and also the removal of 61 and 32% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC), respectively, in 3 h of ozonation time for a 500 μM of solution of parabens.

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Abbreviations

b :

Ratio of ozone consumption/parabens

C :

Concentration of parabens

D L,parabens :

Diffusivity of parabens in the liquid phase

\( D_{{{\text{L,O}}_{3} }} \) :

Diffusivity of ozone in the liquid phase

\( H_{{{\text{O}}_{3} }} \) :

Henry’s law for ozone in water

\( k_{{{\text{L,O}}_{3} }} \) :

Overall mass transfer coefficient of ozone

\( P_{{{\text{O}}_{3} }} \) :

Pressure of ozone applied during ozonation process

r :

Rate of reaction

S :

Surface area

t :

Time of reaction

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) and University of Malaya. We thank Emeritus Professor Bernd R.T. Simoneit (Oregon State University) for improvement of the English.

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  1. Environmental Research Group, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Kheng Soo Tay, Noorsaadah Abd. Rahman & Mhd. Radzi Bin Abas

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  1. Kheng Soo Tay
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Tay, K.S., Rahman, N.A. & Radzi Bin Abas, M. Kinetic studies of the degradation of parabens in aqueous solution by ozone oxidation. Environ Chem Lett 8, 331–337 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-009-0229-7

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