Sonochemical degradation of <i style="">p</i>-chlorophenol in aqueous solution using hypervalent iron

Abstract

Sonochemical degradation of <i style="">p</i>-chlorophenol (CP) by coupling a well-known environmental friendly oxidant – iron (VI) in the form of potassium ferrate, with the assistance of sonication (Sono ferrate) was experimented upon in this work. The efficiency of the method was monitored by the degradation and mineralization of <i style="">p</i>-chlorophenol. The relevant parameters namely <i style="">p</i>H and ferrate: CP ratio were optimized. The optimal <i style="">p</i>H and the ferrate: CP ratio for the sono ferrate method was found to be 8.0 and 3:1 at which the removal efficiency with respect to chemical oxygen demand was found to be 85.7% in 75 min and the mineralization efficiency (TOC removal) was 71.6%. It was observed that sono ferrate method was more effective than simple ferrate method. Hence it is recommended to use sono ferrate method as an effective, clean and green way of degrading CP.