Enhanced degradation of trichloroethene by calcium peroxide activated with Fe(III) in the presence of citric acid

Abstract

Trichloroethene (TCE) degradation by Fe(III)-activated calcium peroxide (CP) in the presence of citric acid (CA) in aqueous solution was investigated. The results demonstrated that the presence of CA enhanced TCE degradation significantly by increasing the concentration of soluble Fe(III) and promoting H₂O₂ generation. The generation of HO• and O₂^-• in both the CP/Fe(III) and CP/Fe(III)/CA systems was confirmed with chemical probes. The results of radical scavenging tests showed that TCE degradation was due predominantly to direct oxidation by HO•, while O₂^-• strengthened the generation of HO• by promoting Fe(III) transformation in the CP/Fe(III)/CA system. Acidic pH conditions were favorable for TCE degradation, and the TCE degradation rate decreased with increasing pH. The presence of Cl^-, HCO₃^-, and humic acid (HA) inhibited TCE degradation to different extents for the CP/Fe(III)/CA system. Analysis of Cl^- production suggested that TCE degradation in the CP/Fe(III)/CA system occurred through a dechlorination process. In summary, this study provided detailed information for the application of CA-enhanced Fe(III)-activated calcium peroxide for treating TCE contaminated groundwater.

Keywords

calcium peroxide / trichloroethene (TCE) / citric acid / ferric ion / free radicals / oxidation

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41373094 and 51208199), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2015M570341) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 22A2015 14057). The contributions of Dr. Mark Brusseau were supported by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (P42 ES04940).ƒ

ƒSupplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11783-016-0838-x and is accessible for authorized users.

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