In this work, the treatment of 4-nitrophenol (NP) in water by ozonation, electrolysis, electro-peroxone (EP), and photo-electro-peroxone (PEP) processes was investigated. PEP process is based on the combination of ozonation, UV irradiation, and electrolysis using a carbon felt cathode and a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode. In this process, H2O2 is electrochemically generated from reduction of O2 in the ozone generator effluent at a carbon felt cathode. The in situ generated H2O2 is simultaneously decomposed by UV-photolysis and by reaction with O3 to form HO• radicals that can rapidly and non-selectively oxidize organic pollutants. The results showed that PEP is the most efficient process for a rapid NP degradation in water than the other individual and combined methods. In addition, PEP process was able to completely remove total organic carbon (TOC) from NP solution after consumption of 4.1 kWh/kg TOC removed. Hydroquinone, 1,2,4-trihydroxybenzene, oxalic and maleic acids were identified as the main intermediates of NP degradation. The addition of iron to NP solution did not significantly affect the efficiency of PEP process. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of BDD anodes and UV light in PEP process can significantly enhance the kinetics and minimize energy requirements.
Keywords: Advanced oxidation; UV-photolysis; electrolysis; hydrogen peroxide; hydroxyl radicals; ozonation.