Enhancement of benzene degradation by persulfate oxidation: synergistic effect by nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and thermal activation.

The feasibility of an advanced oxidation process based upon sodium persulfate (SPS) activated simultaneously by heat (50 °C) and nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) on benzene removal was investigated. The experimental results strongly showed the synergistic effect of thermal and nZVI activation to SPS and benzene removal was enhanced with the increase of SPS/nZVI/benzene molar ratio. Specifically, 94% of benzene could be removed in 1 hr at 50 °C at the SPS/nZVI/benzene molar ratio of 10/5/1.

Trichloroethylene degradation performance in aqueous solution by Fe(II) activated sodium percarbonate in the presence of surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate.

The performance of trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation by sodium percarbonate (SPC) activated with Fe(II) in the presence of 3.0 g/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as well as the role of SDS in the SPC/Fe(II) system was investigated since SDS is a common surfactant used in groundwater remediation for improving TCE dissolution to the aqueous phase. The results showed that though the introduction of SDS could inhibit the TCE degradation, the inhibiting effect was less with the increasing SDS dose.