Toluene oxidation: UV irradiation vs. ferrates

Abstract Novel technologies for organic pollutants degradation have been studied to cope with extensive water pollution. In this work, the use of ultraviolet degradation and potassium ferrate as possible oxidation tools for toluene, a widely used industrial chemical, degradation is proposed. In the experiment with ultraviolet irradiation, a low-pressure mercury lamp was used to generate a single line electromagnetic radiation with the wavelength of 254 nm. Maximal degradation efficiency achieved after 55 minutes of irradiation was 67.1 %. In the experiments with potassium ferrate, the highest degradation efficiency was 71.2 % at the concentration of 10 mg/L of ferrate (VI) anion.