Catalytic degradation of organic pollutants using activated hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

Chloramphenicol and crystal violet were studied as models of organic pollutants , the two compounds were prepared by dissolving 500.00 mg in a liter of distilled water , 5 Cm3 of Fe+2 (0.22M) was added to the mixture of reaction as a catalyst , the reaction initiated by addition of 5 Cm3 H2O2 (50% w/w) . The degradation of the compounds was tested by HPLC method which was used to follow the degradation of the compounds for 20 minutes, The results indicated that about 95% of chloramphenicol was decomposed while the crystal violet was decomposed completely. Spectrophotometer was used to determine the rate of degradation by measuring absorbance against time at different pH values in acidic medium and the results shows different response as pH varied. The highest rate was at pH 3.8 for chloramphenicol and at 4.6 and 5.1 for crystal violet.