Hydroxylamine Promoted Fe( III ) Reduction in H2O2/Soil Systems for Phenol Degradation

Production of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) upon the oxidation of solid Fe(II) by O 2 or H 2 O 2 in soils and sediments has been confirmed, which benefits in-situ remediation of contaminants. However, Fe(III) reduction by H 2 O 2 is rate-limiting. Accelerating the Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle could improve the efficiency of remediation. This study intended to use hydroxylamine to promote Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle during 100 g/L soil oxidation by H 2 O 2 for phenol degradation. The removal of phenol was 76% in 3 h during soil oxidation with 1 mM H 2 O 2 in the presence of 1 mM hydroxylamine but was negligible in the absence of hydroxylamine. Fe(III) in the soil was reduced to 0.21 mM Fe(II) by 1 mM hydroxylamine in 30 min, which suggested that the effective enhancement of phenol degradation was attributed to cycle of Fe(III)/Fe(II) by hydroxylamine during soil oxidation. Under the conditions of 1 mM H 2 O 2 , 100 g/L soil, the pseudo-first-order kinetic constant of phenol degradation increased proportionally from 0.0453 to 0.0844 min − 1 with the increase of hydroxylamine concentrations from 0.5 to 1 mM. The kinetic constant also increased from 0.0041 to 0.0111 min − 1 with H 2 O 2 concentration increased from 0.5 to 2 mM, while it decreased from 0.0100 to 0.0051 min − 1 with soil dosage increased from 20 to 200 g/L. In addition, column experiments showed that phenol (10 mg/L) degradation ratio kept at about 48.7% with feeding 2 mM hydroxylamine and 2 mM H 2 O 2 at 0.025 PV/min. Column experiments suggested an optional application of hydroxylamine and H 2 O 2 for in-situ remediation. Output of this study provides guidance and optional strategies to enhance contaminant degradation during soil oxidation.