Degradation and Mineralization Study of Promecarb by Electro Fenton Process

Abstract

Organic substances as pesticides, especially aromatic compounds are a major environmental concern. In the present work, solutions of Promecarb or 3-isopropyl-5-methylphenyl-N-methylcarbamate of pH = 3 have been degraded by electro Fenton process, using a volumic electrochemical reactor filled with carbon graphite. Effects of nature of material of cathode, initial concentration of insecticide and applied current on the kinetics of oxidative degradation and mineralization efficiency have been investigated. Kinetic analysis showed that the oxidation of Promecarb by hydroxyl radicals follows a reaction kinetic of pseudo first order. The absolute rate constant for Promecarb oxidation by hydroxyl radicals was determined as 10.88 × 10⁹ L mol^-1 s^-1 by competitive kinetics method and benzoic acid was used as reference compound. Mineralization of this pesticide by hydroxyl radicals consists in its transformation to mineral products. The evolution of the mineralization during Promecarb treatment by electro Fenton process was followed by analysis of Total Organic Carbon TOC. Thus, after 3 hours of electrolysis and at I = 800 mA, more than 50% of the organic carbon present in the solution is mineralized. Several degradation products were formed during its electro Fenton treatment. These intermediates were identified using High Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC, Ionic Chromatography IC and Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry LC-MS. Based on identification of aromatic intermediates and carboxylic acids, a plausible Promecarb mineralization pathway is proposed. Also, we realized the measurement of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD₅ of insecticide solution after treatment by electro Fenton process, to evaluate its biodegradability.