Ultrasonic degradation of aqueous phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP) in the presence of nano-Fe/H2O2

Olushola S Ayanda; Simphiwe M Nelana; Eliazer B Naidoo

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.04.012

Ultrasonic degradation of aqueous phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP) in the presence of nano-Fe/H₂O₂

Ultrason Sonochem. 2018 Oct:47:29-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.04.012. Epub 2018 Apr 24.

Authors

Olushola S Ayanda¹, Simphiwe M Nelana², Eliazer B Naidoo²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa; Nanoscience Research, Department of Industrial Chemistry, Federal University Oye Ekiti, P.M.B 373, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Electronic address: osayanda@gmail.com.
² Department of Chemistry, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa.

PMID: 29908604
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.04.012

Abstract

In this study, nano iron (nano-Fe) was successfully synthesized by sodium borohydride reduction of ferric chloride solution to enhance the ultrasonic degradation of phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP). The nano-Fe was characterized by scanning electron microscopy - energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area determination. Experimental results demonstrated that a combined ultrasonic/nano-Fe/H₂O₂ system was more effective for PSP removal in combination than they were individually and there was a significant difference between the combined and single processes. The ultrasonic/nano-Fe/H₂O₂ degradation follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model. The addition of nano-Fe and H₂O₂ to the ultrasonic reactor greatly accelerated the degradation of PSP (25 mg/L) from 12.5% up to 96.5%. These findings indicated that ultrasonic degradation in the presence of nano-Fe and H₂O₂ is a promising and efficient technique for the elimination of emerging micropollutants from aqueous solution.

Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; Nano iron; Phenolsulfonphthalein; Sonochemical degradation; Ultrasound.