CHEMICAL DEGRADATION OF AROMATIC-AMINES BY FENTONS REAGENT

The potential of the oxidation of various carcinogenic aromatic amines by Fenton's reagent [Fe(II) + H2O2] for liquid waste treatments was a ssessed. The insoluble products yielded were amenable to oxidation to ring-cleavage products and ultimately to carbon dioxide. Mineralizatio n was confirmed by mass spectrometry. The kinetics of precipitation wa s determined from scattering measurements, at 500 nm, of the insoluble substance produced as a function of time. The influence of experiment al variables on the removal of aromatic amines from aqueous solutions by formation of insoluble products and ring-cleavage products was esta blished. Complete removal took about 1 and 3 h of treatment overall fo r the formation of insoluble products and ring-cleavage products, resp ectively. Residual hydrogen peroxide, iron(II) concentration, chemical oxygen demand and chromatographic techniques were used to determine w hen the reaction was finished. The iron(II) concentration was found to be crucial to the nature of the end products obtained (insoluble prod ucts, ring-cleavage products, CO2). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd