DI-[2-ethylhexyl] phthalate oxidative degradation by fenton process in synthetic and real petrochemical wastewater

ABSTRACT

Di-[2-Ethylhexyl] phthalate [DEHP] belongs to the class of phthalate esters and is used as an additive in many products including plastics, paints and inks or as a solvent in industrial formulations. The degradation of DEHP in aqueous solution using oxidative Fenton reaction [H[2]O[2]/Fe[2+] was carried out in this study. It was found that H[2]O[2] concentration, Fe[2+] concentration, and pH were the three main factors that could significantly influence the degradation rates of DEHP. The highest degradation percentage [85.6%] of DEHP was observed within 60 min at pH 3 in H[2]O[2]/Fe[2+] system. The results of our study suggested that the concentration with 90 mg/L H[2]O[2] 5 mg/L Fe[2+], and 20 mg/L DEHP in the solution at pH 3 were the optimal conditions. The optimized reaction parameters were preceded for treatment of real wastewater obtained from a petrochemical plant