Surfactant-assisted removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol from soil by zero-valent Fe/Cu activated persulfate

The organic compounds contaminated soil substantially threatens the growth of plants and food safety. In this study, we synthesis zero-valent bimetallic Fe/Cu catalysts for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) in soils with persulfate (PS) in combination of organic surfactants and exploring the main environmental impact factors. The kinetic experiments show that the 5% (mass) dosage of Fe/Cu exhibits a higher degradation efficiency (86%) of DCP in soils, and the degradation efficiency of DCP increases with the increase of the initial PS concentration. Acidic conditions are favorable for the DCP degradation in soils. More importantly, the addition of Tween-80, and Triton-100 can obviously desorb DCP from the soil surface, which enhances the degradation efficiency of DCP in soils by Fe/Cu and PS reaction system. Furthermore, the Quenching experiments demonstrate that SO??? 4. and .OH are the predominant radicals for the degradation of DCP during the Fe/Cu and PS reaction system as well as non-radical also exist. The findings of this work provide an effective method for remediating DCP from soils. ?? 2021 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Soil contaminated with organic compounds poses a significant threat to plant growth and food safety. In this study, we synthesized zero-valent bimetallic Fe/Cu catalysts and used them in conjunction with persulfate (PS) and organic surfactants to degrade 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) in soil, while exploring the main environmental impact factors. Experimental results showed that a 5% (mass) dosage of Fe/Cu exhibited a higher DCP degradation efficiency (86%) in soil, and the degradation efficiency increased with increasing initial PS concentration. Acidic conditions favored DCP degradation in soil. Furthermore, the addition of Tween-80 and Triton-100 enhanced the desorption of DCP from the soil surface, thereby increasing the degradation efficiency of DCP by the Fe/Cu and PS reaction system. Quenching experiments revealed that SO??? 4. and .OH were the predominant radicals for DCP degradation in the Fe/Cu and PS reaction system, with non-radical species also present.