Effect of Gliding Arc Plasma-Induced UV Light During the Photo-Fenton Oxidation of 4-Chlorophenol in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

4-chlorophenol (4-CP) is recognized as a highly toxic organic which can cause damage effects on human life and the aquatic environment. Since conventional wastewater techniques were unable to remove non-biodegradable chlorophenols, advanced oxidation process was investigated to achieve this goal. Amongst them, non-thermal plasma was recently proposed as an alternative and promising technique. However, the energy efficiency of most non-thermal plasma technique is very low as well as the input energy is dissipated in many forms such as heat, UV radiation, electromagnetic waves, etc., that are not totally involved in the pollutant degradation. In this work, quantitative analyses of UV radiation and H2O2 in a moist air gliding arc plasma (glidarc) were performed using potassium ferrioxalate actinometry and peroxytitanyl complex method, respectively. The role of UV light emitted in gliding arc plasma was elucidated by performing parallel experiments: H2O2, glidarc alone, glidarc + H2O2, glidarc + H2O2 + Fe3+ (plasma-Photo-Fenton). The results show that the incorporation of Fenton reagents in 4-CP solution exposed to the plasma enhanced the yields of chemical active species, which were available for efficient removal and mineralization of 4-CP.