REMOVAL OF PHENOL IN AN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION BY OXIDATION USING OZONE ANDHYDROGEN-PEROXIDE UNDER ULTRAVIOLET-IRRADIATION

The removal of phenol in an aqueous solution as a typical pollutant by oxidation using ozone and hydrogen peroxide under ultraviolet irradia tion has been studied. Both the O3/UV and the H2O2/UV method can be po werful to decompose the total organic carbon (TOC) to carbon dioxide a nd water, but the first method is more effective. In the case of H2O2/ UV method a strong overdose on H2O2 is necessary to remove TOC effecti vely, however, a favourable H2O2 concentration exists. This is probabl y caused by undesired parallel reactions of hydrogen peroxide. The sim ultaneous use of ozone and hydrogen peroxide accelerates the removal o f TOC in the first third of experiment in comparison to the O3/UV meth od, but the time of total decomposition of TOC is delayed. A change in measured kinetics of ozone consumption by organic molecules correspon ds well with the time of total transformation of aromatic into aliphat ic substances.