Removing pentachlorophenol from water using a nanoscale zero-valent iron/H2O2 system.

ABSTRACT

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is an environmentally benign material that has been widely used as a reducing agent to treat environmental pollutants. In this study, nZVI was used as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst in an nZVI/H2O2 system to remove pentachlorophenol (PCP) from water. The PCP degradation process in the nZVI/H2O2 system was completed within 1h. The relative Cl(-) concentration increased throughout the test period (6h), indicating that the performance of the oxidative system in terms of dechlorination was excellent. The initial H2O2 concentration significantly influenced the PCP removal rate, and nZVI performed better than commercial zero-valent iron as a catalyst. Moreover, magnetite (Fe3O4), which was the main product of the corrosion of nZVI, was found to perform well as an adsorbent and catalyst, so it allowed the nZVI to be effectively reused.