Abstract
In this work, fly ash from a Brazilian thermal power plant was employed as a low-cost raw catalyst for Procion red degradation by photo-Fenton process. The ash was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms (BET), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). The material had an iron content of 4.10 wt%, distributed homogeneously on the solid surface. The ash particles showed mainly spherical morphology between 0.5 and 20 µm. The catalyst presented promising activity, reaching 93% of dye decolorization at 60 min of reaction, and 85% of organic load removal at 240 min. The predominant oxidizing species involved on the degradation of dye molecules during the photo-Fenton reaction were the hydroxyl radicals (HO·). The material showed remarkable stability and reusability after five successive cycles of reuse. The reaction intermediates were identified by LC/MS analysis and a reaction pathway was proposed.
Highlights
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Reaction pathway for degradation of an emerging contaminant by photo-Fenton
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Fly ash was a promising catalyst for the degradation of Procion red
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The catalytic efficiency was 93.6% decolorization and 85% TOC removal
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Fly ash presented good stability and low level of deactivation after five uses
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The authors acknowledge the financial support given by research funding agencies CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel-Brazil) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-Brazil).
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Grassi, P., Drumm, F.C., da Silveira Salla, J. et al. Investigation of the reaction pathway for degradation of emerging contaminant in water by photo-Fenton oxidation using fly ash as low-cost raw catalyst. Int J Environ Res 14, 427–438 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-020-00266-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-020-00266-1