Application of Photo-Fenton Process For the removal of Nitrate from Aqueous Solutions

Nitrate is one of the pollutants of groundwater and the great amount of nitrate in drinking water can bring about some hygienic problems such as methemoglobinema phenomena in children. Therefore, this research aims to study the efficiency of photo- Fenton in removing nitrate and investigating the variables affecting it in aqueous solutions. Methods and Materials: This research was carried out in water and wastewater chemistry lab at public health faculty of Hamadan medical science university. The variable parameters in this study included pH (in four ranges 3, 5, 7 & 11), the concentration of zero- valent iron powder)in four ranges of 10, 15, 20 & 30 g/L)، the concentration of peroxide hydrogen (in four ranges of 5, 10, 15 and 20 ml/L)، contact time (in four ranges 30, 60, 90 & 120 min)., along with the use of UV lamp with overage pressure of 30W and wavelength of 247/3 nm as the source. According to the results from this study, decreasing pH can increase the efficiency of removal. The highest efficiency of removal occurred in pH=3, contact time 120 min, H2O2 of 10 ml/L and iron powder of 30 g/L, which was equal to 98. 8 percent. Given the results of this research, photo-Fenton process could be used efficiently for the removal of nitrate from water resources.