Effects of organic acids and initial solution pH on photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) in a photo-Fenton-like process using goethite (α-FeOOH)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Abstract
This work investigated the effects of organic acids and initial solution pH on the photodegradation of BPA in a photo-Fenton-like process using α-FeOOH as a catalyst. The results showed that the addition of different organic acids affected the formation of the ferric-carboxylate complexes and free radicals, which in turn varied the photodegradation efficacy. Compared with the other acids, oxalic acid (OA) was found to be the most effective in enhancing the photodegradation of BPA, which strongly depends on the OA concentration. Particularly, the addition of OA could significantly extend the working pH from an acidic to a neutral range for the photocatalytic process and thus the acidification pretreatment may not be needed. A high photocatalytic degradation of BPA occurred at pH 6.0, due to the formation of ferric-oxalate complexes and OH radicals in the synergistic interactions of OA and α-FeOOH. This finding highlights that the oxalate-promoted photo-Fenton-like process using the α-FeOOH catalyst may be used for wastewater treatment without pH adjustment.
Identifier
84982703205 (Scopus)
Publication Title
Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences
External Full Text Location
https://doi.org/10.1039/c6pp00051g
e-ISSN
14749092
ISSN
1474905X
First Page
1046
Last Page
1053
Issue
8
Volume
15
Grant
2014M561356
Fund Ref
Harbin Institute of Technology
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Guangshan; Wang, Qiao; Zhang, Wen; Li, Tian; Yuan, Yixing; and Wang, Peng, "Effects of organic acids and initial solution pH on photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) in a photo-Fenton-like process using goethite (α-FeOOH)" (2016). Faculty Publications. 10853.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/fac_pubs/10853
