Degradation of organic pollutants by heterogeneous electro‐Fenton process using Mn–alginate composite

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND The exploration of new technology based on electro‐Fenton‐like process has advantageous and unique environmental implications, however, scaling up to permit operation in continuous mode is a decisive stage to be researched. RESULTS A new metal–organic composite, manganese–alginate (Mn‐ AB ) was synthesized. It was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and the results showed that manganese was uniformly distributed on the surface of alginate beads. A comparative study of the decolorization of Reactive Black 5 demonstrated that the best performance was obtained by heterogeneous electro‐Fenton using Mn‐ AB as catalyst. In addition, operation over four successive batches and continuous mode, showed high activity and stability of the catalyst Mn‐ AB without operational problems, and maintained particle shape throughout the oxidation process. The ability of Mn‐ AB catalyst for the degradation of other pollutants (imidacloprid, di‐2‐ethylhexyl phthalate, 4‐nitrophenol) was confirmed by identification of several reaction intermediates using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry ( LC‐MS ) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry ( GC‐MS ). CONCLUSION The efficiency of the new Fenton‐like catalyst developed in this study was successfully demonstrated. Results validate an adequate heterogeneous electro‐Fenton‐like process to continuously remediate organic pollutants in aqueous medium. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry