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Degradation of carbon tetrachloride in thermally activated persulfate system in the presence of formic acid

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Abstract

The thermally activated persulfate (PS) degradation of carbon tetrachloride (CT) in the presence of formic acid (FA) was investigated. The results indicated that CT degradation followed a zero order kinetic model, and CO –2 · was responsible for the degradation of CT confirmed by radical scavenger tests. CT degradation rate increased with increasing PS or FA dosage, and the initial CT had no effect on CT degradation rate. However, the initial solution pH had effect on the degradation of CT, and the best CT degradation occurred at initial pH 6. Cl– had a negative effect on CT degradation, and high concentration of Cl– displayed much strong inhibition. Ten mmol·L–1HCO –3 promoted CT degradation, while 100 mmol·L–1NO –3 inhibited the degradation of CT, but SO 2–4 promoted CT degradation in the presence of FA. The measured Cl–concentration released into solution along with CT degradation was 75.8% of the total theoretical dechlorination yield, but no chlorinated intermediates were detected. The split of C-Cl was proposed as the possible reaction pathways in CT degradation. In conclusion, this study strongly demonstrated that the thermally activated PS system in the presence of FA is a promising technique in in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) remediation for CT contaminated site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Minhui Xu, Xiaogang Gu, Shuguang Lu, Zhouwei Miao, Xueke Zang, Xiaoliang Wu, Zhaofu Qiu & Qian Sui

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  1. Minhui Xu
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  2. Xiaogang Gu
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  3. Shuguang Lu
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Correspondence to Shuguang Lu.

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Xu, M., Gu, X., Lu, S. et al. Degradation of carbon tetrachloride in thermally activated persulfate system in the presence of formic acid. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 10, 438–446 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-015-0798-6

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