Ferrate(VI) performance on the halogenated benzene degradation: Degradation test and by-product analysis

Abstract

Halogenated benzene, such as bromobenzene and chlorobenzene, are major pollutants that are found in contaminated sites, particularly in developed countries. Contamination of bromobenzene and chlorobenzene impacts the environment due to high toxicity. Ferrate(VI) is environmentally friendly for water and wastewater treatment and can degrade various pollutants effectively. This study aims to reduce bromobenzene and chlorobenzene using Ferrate(VI) in an aqueous solution and investigate the by-product of bromobenzene and chlorobenzene degradation by GC–MS. The degradation experiment was conducted at a molar ratio (Ferrate: Halogenated benzene) of 1:1. The degradation experiment results show that chlorobenzene degradation has higher degradation efficiency than bromobenzene degradation. The intermediate products of chlorobenzene, such as 3-methylbut-1-ene and 2,2-dichloroacetic acid; and bromobenzene suck as isobutyraldehyde and ethane-1,2-diol, were identified. The possible degradation pathways of chlorobenzene and bromobenzene were also studied and proposed in this paper. The results of the investigation showed that Ferrate(VI) could effectively degrade chlorobenzene and bromobenzene into a simpler organic compound by-product in an aqueous solution.