Heterogeneous Fenton Catalytic Removal of Organic Pollutant in Aqueous Solution by using Coal Gangue as a Catalyst

Abstract

Coal gangue was used as a catalyst in heterogeneous Fenton process for the degradation of azo dye and phenol. The influencing factors, such as solution pH gangue concentration and hydrogen peroxide dosage were investigated, and the reaction mechanism between coal gangue and hydrogen peroxide was also discussed. Experimental results showed that coal gangue has the ability to activate hydrogen peroxide to degrade environmental pollutants in aqueous solution. Under optimal conditions, after 60 minutes of treatment, more than 90.57% of reactive red dye was removed, and the removal efficiency of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) up to 72.83%. Both hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical anion participated in the degradation of organic pollutant but hydroxyl radical predominated. Stability tests for coal gangue were also carried out via the continuous degradation experiment and ion leakage analysis. After five times continuous degradation, dye removal rate decreased slightly and the leached Fe was still at very low level (2.24-3.02 mg L-1). The results of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (EDS) and X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) indicated that coal gangue catalyst is stable after five times continuous reuse. The progress in this research suggested that coal gangue is a potential nature catalyst for the efficient degradation of organic pollutant in water and wastewater via the Fenton reaction.