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Mechanistic evaluation and reaction pathway of UV photo-assisted Fenton-like degradation of progesterone in water and wastewater

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Abstract

The mechanisms and reaction pathway of UV photo-assisted Fenton-like degradation of progesterone in water and wastewater were investigated. The reaction followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics for both the dark Fenton-like and UV photo-Fenton-like processes. The reaction kinetics of the UV photo-assisted process improved with the presence of humic acid (HA) in wastewater, due to the formation of Fe(III)-HA complexes which enhanced Fe(II) production by a ligand-to-metal charge transfer. The UV photo-assisted process reduced the amount of ferric required to completely degrade progesterone by 60 % and lowered the activation energy to 42 kJ/mol compared to 104 kJ/mol for the dark Fenton-like process. Complete degradation of progesterone was achieved through a multi-step process involving several intermediate compounds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support from Severn Trent Water, UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy, Construction and Environment, Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    A. O. Ifelebuegu & B. Nzeribe-Nwedo

  2. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK

    J. Ukpebor

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  1. A. O. Ifelebuegu
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Correspondence to A. O. Ifelebuegu.

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Ifelebuegu, A.O., Ukpebor, J. & Nzeribe-Nwedo, B. Mechanistic evaluation and reaction pathway of UV photo-assisted Fenton-like degradation of progesterone in water and wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 2757–2766 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-1103-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-1103-3

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