Comparison of Five Advanced Oxidation Processes for Degradation of Pesticide in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

The study compared the technical efficiency and economic cost of five advanced oxidation processes (Fenton, UV photo-Fenton, solar photo-Fenton, UV/TiO2/H2O2 and FeGAC/H2O2) for degradation of the pesticides chlorpyrifos cypermethrin and chlorothalonil in aqueous solution. The highest degradation in terms of COD and TOC removals and improvement of the biodegradability (BOD5/COD ratio) index (BI) were observed to be (i) Fenton - 69.03% (COD), 55.61% (TOC), and 0.35 (BI); (ii) UV photo-Fenton -78.56% (COD), 63.76% (TOC) and 0.38 (BI);  (iii) solar photo-Fenton - 74.19% (COD), 58.32% (TOC) and 0.36 (BI); (iv) UV/TiO2/H2O2 - 53.62% (COD), 21.54% (TOC), and 0.26 (BI); and  (v) the most technical efficient and cost effective process was FeGAC/H2O2. At an optimum condition (FeGAC 5 g/L, H2O2 100 mg/L, and reaction time of 60 min at pH 3), the COD and TOC removal efficiency were 96.19 and 85.60%, respectively, and the biodegradation index was 0.40. The degradation rate constant and cost were 0.0246 min-1 and $0.74/kg TOC, respectively. The FeGAC/H2O2 process is the most technically efficient and cost effective for pretreatment of the pesticide wastewater before biological treatment. Copyright © 2018 BCREC Group. All rights reservedReceived: 26th July 2017; Revised: 26nd September 2017; Accepted: 27th September 2017; Available online: 22nd January 2018; Published regularly: 2nd April 2018How to Cite: Affam, A.C., Chaudhuri, M., Kutty, S.R.M. (2018). Comparison of Five Advanced Oxidation Processes for Degradation of Pesticide in Aqueous Solution. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 13 (1): 179-186 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.13.1.1394.179-186)