Enhanced degradation of gaseous benzene by a Fenton reaction

Abstract

A wet scrubbing process coupled with advanced oxidation processes (AOP) has raised great interest for the abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) owing to its strong oxidation capacity and few byproducts. Fenton as an AOP has been widely used in wastewater treatment. However, the dosing method of Fenton reagents is not suitable for the treatment of continuous-flow VOCs waste-gas since H₂O₂, a major reagent in the Fenton reaction, will be rapidly eliminated. In this study, the Fenton process was used to enhance benzene degradation in an aeration container with intermittent dosing of H₂O₂. With the same total dosage of H₂O₂, the benzene removal efficiency reached 85% by intermittent dosing while it was quickly decreased to 0% by dosing in a lump. The generated CO₂ by intermittent dosing of H₂O₂ is nearly 3 times that in the latter. In addition, no by-product was generated in the gas phase. The possible pathways and mechanism of benzene degradation by the Fenton process were proposed according to the detected intermediates in the solution. This study provides a simple and efficient way to significantly enhance VOCs degradation by a Fenton reaction.