Abatement of paracetamol by ferrioxalate-mediated Fenton and photo-Fenton processes at near neutral pH: optimization by response surface methodology and toxicity evaluation

SCHENONE, AGUSTINA V.; CONTE, LEANDRO O.; ALFANO, ORLANDO M.; GIMÉNEZ, BÁRBARA N.

Natal

Congreso; IV IBEROAMERICAN CONFERENCE ON ADVANCED OXIDATION TECHNOLOGIES; 2019

This study discusses the degradation of paracetamol (PCT) by Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions at circumneutral pH with the aid of ferrioxalate and a solar simulator. A D-optimal design was applied in order to simultaneously evaluate the effect of three parameters: H2O2 concentration (HP), temperature (T) and radiation level (Rad) on PCT conversion. Once the set of 19 experiments was performed, the model was analysed by means of the analysis of variance. The largest effect was due to Rad, followed by T and finally the HP term. The found optimal conditions for each radiation level (No Rad, Low and High Rad) were tested and the obtained PCT conversions after 90 min of reaction (75.52%, 96.88% and 91.5%, respectively) were very close to those predicted by the models (71.28%, 96.75% and 92.75%, respectively). The acute toxicity (Microtoxâ) was only possible to completely remove after 240 min of reaction when high levels of radiation were applied.