Removal of Pentachlorophenol Using Microwave Assisted Persulfate from Synthetic Wastewater

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an important class of environmental pollutants which is excessively used in industry in spite of strong evidence about its hazards. Therefore, the removal of PCP from aqua solution is recommended due to its toxicity and health risks. In the present study, the removal of PCP using a modified domestic microwave (MW) oven alone and in combination with persulfate (MW/PS) was investigated. The effects of operational parameters such as pH of solution, the power of microwave radiations and the amount of persulfate concentration were studied. A spectrophotometer was used for determining of the concentration of pentachlorophenol. The experimental results showed that the removal of PCP was influenced by many factors, such as the pH value, the amount of persulfate and microwave power. The optimum conditions for the best removal rate were obtained at pH=11, a persulfate concentration of 0.02mol/L and microwave irradiation power of about 600W for MW/PS system at constant PCP concentration. Also, the direct degradation results showed that the removal of PCP was 2% in MW system without PS after 30 min of MW irradiation. The removal of PCP by MW/PS and MW alone were follow first order rate decay kinetics and the rate constants were 0.093 and 0.00066 min-1, respectively.