Photochemical degradation of dimethyl phthalate by Fenton reagent

The photochemical degradation of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) in water was investigated under a variety of reaction conditions using hydrogen peroxide and Fe2+ (Fenton reagent) as oxidant. All experiments were conducted under artificial UV light (high pressure Hg lamp). Fenton reagent vigorously enhanced the photo-degradation rate of dimethyl phthalate. The experimental results showed that the optimum conditions were obtained at pH 3 for the UV/H2O2/Fe2+ system, with original H2O2 and Fe2+ concentrations of 5.00x10(-4) and 1.67x10(-4) M, respectively. The photo-degradation percentage of dimethyl phthalate within 120 min was as high as 81% under the optimum conditions. Therefore, the process of photo-Fenton was an effective treatment process under acidic condition and produced a higher photo-degradation percentage of dimethyl phthalate during a very short radiation time. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.