The role of Fenton's reaction in aqueous phase pulsed streamer corona reactors

Aqueous phase pulsed streamer corona reactors are currently under developme nt for a number of applications including water and wastewater treatment. P revious research has demonstrated that a high voltage pulsed electrical dis charge directly into water leads to the formation of reactive species such as hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. Since significant quantities of hydrogen peroxide are produced, the role of Fenton's reactions in the puls ed corona reactor is analyzed both experimentally and with computer simulat ions in the present work. Experimental data shows the existence of optimal iron concentrations for the degradation of phenol, and that the formation o f hydrogen peroxide by the pulsed corona discharge is dependent upon both t he applied electric field and the solution conductivity. A mathematical mod el based upon mass balances for 31 radical and molecular species in the bat ch reactor (including 71 chemical reactions) has been developed and sensiti vity analysis performed to identify key reactions. This model is used to sh ow the effects of initial reaction conditions (including iron and phenol co ncentrations) on the degradation of phenol and the formation of reaction in termediate products and by-products. The model results are in qualitative a nd semi-quantitative agreement with the experimental observations on the ef fects of initial iron and phenol concentrations on phenol degradation and b y-product formation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.