degradation of aniline by Fe²⁺-activated persulfate oxidation at ambient temperature

ZHANG Yong-qing(张永清)^1,2, XIE Xiao-fang(谢晓芳)¹, HUANG Wei-lin(黄伟林)³, HUANG Shao-bin(黄少斌)¹

(1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control
(College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology),
Guangzhou 510006, China;
2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology,
Guangzhou 510275, China;
3. Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,
New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA)

Abstract:The aniline degradation by persulfate activated with ferrous ion (Fe²⁺) was investigated in batch reactor at ambient temperature. The experimental factors in aqueous solutions including persulfate concentration, Fe²⁺ concentration, pH and ionic strength level were discussed. It is demonstrated that, aniline degradation rate increases with increasing persulfate concentration, but much more ferrous ion inhibits the aniline degradation. When the aniline concentration is 0.10 mmol/L, the maximum aniline degradation occurs at the S₂O₈^2- to Fe²⁺ molar ratio of 250/5 at pH 7.0. In the pH range of 5.0-8.5, increasing pH causes higher aniline degradation. What’s more, the increase of ionic strength in solution causes inhibiting in the reaction. Produced intermediates during the oxidation process were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology. And degradation pathways of aniline were also tentatively proposed.

Key words:aniline; ferrous ion; persulfate; degradation