Degradation of Nonylphenol ethoxylate 10 (NP10EO) in a synthetic aqueous solution using a combined treatment: Electrooxidation-gamma irradiation

Nonylphenol ethoxylate 10 (NP10EO) is a recalcitrant substance and treatments used to remove it from the environment have been unsuccessful. In this study, degradation of NP10EO was assessed by applying a combined sequenced treatment: electrooxidation (EO) process using a Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) electron as anode and gamma irradiation. To ascertain the effectiveness of the treatment, experiments with EO, gamma irradiation, and a combined treatment (EO-gamma irradiation) were carried out. The variables were pH, current density, electrolysis time, and dosage of radiation. The best conditions found were for EO: 180 min, pH = 2.3 +/- 0.5, current density of 16.66 mA cm(-2), radiative: 40 kGy and 440 L-1 H2O2, and EO-Rad: 60 min 16.66 mA cm(-2) + 40 kGy and 440 mu L L-1 H2O2. These techniques are reliable because they have been conceived to be long-lasting and their performance in this application was excellent. The combined treatment reached 100% of NP10EO degradation efficiency, a result that was verified by UV/VIS spectrophotometry and COD analysis.

Automated summary

In this study, a combined treatment of electrooxidation and gamma irradiation was used to successfully degrade Nonylphenol ethoxylate 10, achieving a 100% degradation efficiency. The best conditions for treatment include 180 minutes of EO with a Boron-Doped Diamond electrode, and addition of H2O2 in the combined treatment.