Highly Efficient Degradation of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate Surfactant by MIL-53 (Fe) Metal Organic Framework Derived Electro-Fenton Applicable in Water Treatments

MIL-53 (Fe) Metal-organic framework (MOF) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller techniques. The synthesized MOF was successfully applied as an efficient catalyst in Electro-Fenton degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) surfactant, so that degradation rate constant, K-app,K- for LAS degradation showed significantly higher amounts in presence of Fe MOF. Effect of experimental parameters on Electro-Fenton degradation including pH, MOF amount, applied current, Fe (II) concentration, and electrodes distance were investigated and optimized amounts were found. Applying of MOF caused efficient removal of LAS in compared to when MOF was not applied. Catalytic electrochemical degradation in this work showed removal of more than 98 % of initial surfactant in 150 min which was completely satisfying for LAS removal.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that MIL-53 (Fe) metal-organic framework has efficient catalytic action in the Electro-Fenton degradation of LAS surfactant, with significantly improved degradation rate in the presence of Fe MOF. By optimizing experimental parameters, MOF efficiently removes LAS in a short period of time, meeting the removal requirements for LAS.