A coupling process of membrane separation and heterogeneous Fenton-like catalytic oxidation for treatment of acid orange II-containing wastewater

Membrane filtration was coupled with heterogeneous Fenton-like catalytic oxidation to resolve the continuously reuse problem of fine catalysts. A new integrated (MHF) reactor was developed to allow the active species to remain in the reaction system. The reactor consisted of a newly prepared heterogeneous catalyst, superfine Fe-immobilized carbon (FeOOH-C) particles, and a submerged ceramic micro-filtration membrane separator. Experimental results showed that the membrane module could efficiently intercept FeOOH-C particles in the reactor by the synergistic cooperative sieving of the raw and dynamic membranes. A relatively steady flux was maintained, but the magnitude of the flux was affected by the concentration of the FeOOH-C. In the MHF reactor, degradation of the targeted pollutant, acid orange II (AO II), occurred continuously and efficiently without an additional separation process to recover FeOOH-C. At a FeOOH-C dose of 1 g L-1 and a residence time of 120 min, the MHF reactor could keep a constant flux of 3 L m(-2) min with a stable degradation efficiency of similar to 98% for 100 mg L-1 AO II solution. The integrated process of membrane separation and heterogeneous Fenton-like catalytic oxidation was confirmed to be an efficient process for degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants in wastewater. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.