title: Photo-Fenton treatment of water containing natural phenolic pollutants.
abstract: Phenolic compounds are known to be present in high concentrations in various types of agro-industrial wastes. As they are highly biorecalcitrant, the possibility of treatment by advanced oxidation processes should be investigated. In this work, six model phenolic compounds (vanillin, protocatechuic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, gallic acid and L-tyrosine) were chosen for a demonstration of degradation by photo-Fenton reaction, under artificial light in laboratory experiments in Vienna and under sunlight in pilot-plant experiments at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Spain. All compounds were completely mineralised. No non-degradable intermediates were produced, either in experiments with single substances or in a more complex matrix of a mixture of phenolic compounds. The expected selectivity of the photo-Fenton reaction for aromatic compounds was proven by comparison of the decrease in total organic carbon with the removal of total phenolic content.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physical and Theoretial Chemistry, Vienna University of Technology, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gernjak
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krutzler
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.forename: Sixto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malato
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caceres
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernández-Alba
mesh_terms: D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010782:Photolysis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: C045076:Fenton's reagent; D010636:Phenols; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D007501:Iron