New combination of pulsed light and iron (II) for carbonate radical production to enhanced degradation of bisphenol A: Parameter optimization and degradation pathway

Abstract

Bisphenol A(BPA) is a common industrial chemical with significant adverse impacts on Environment and human health. The present work evaluates the efficacy of pulsed light (PL) and Fe(2+) ions in activation of sodium percarbonate (SPC) to produce hydroxyl (OH(•)) and carbonate (CO(3)(•-)) radicals for efficient degradation of BPA. The effects of operational parameters such as solution pH, SPC and Fe(2+) dose as well as the mixture composition were analyzed and the decomposition pathway of BPA proposed. The BPA was successfully degraded at the initial concentration of 15.0 mg/L and optimized conditions by the PL/Fe(2+)/SPC process (99.67 ± 0.29). A rapid reduction in the degradation of BPA was observed with increasing pH due to OH(•) radicals quenching and also the precipitation of Fe(2+). Under the optimized conditions, degradation of BPA by PL/Fe(2+)/SPC process was five-times faster than the individual process. The quenching experiments revealed that radical and non-radical pathways on BPA degradation was accomplished with OH(•), CO(3)(•-), O(2)(•-), and (1)O(2,) while OH(•) and CO(3)(•-) radicals (as a dominant radicals) have the contributions of 80.23 and 8.30, respectively. Based on the detected byproducts, ring cleavage can be considered as the main transformation mechanism of BPA by the PL/Fe(2+)/SPC process.