Protocatechuic Acid Promoted Alachlor Degradation in Fe(III)/H₂O₂ Fenton System

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrate that protocatechuic acid (PCA) can significantly promote the alachlor degradation in the Fe(III)/H2O2 Fenton oxidation system. It was found that the addition of protocatechuic acid could increase the alachlor degradation rate by 10 000 times in this Fenton oxidation system at pH = 3.6. This dramatic enhancement of alachlor degradation was attributed to the complexing and reduction abilities of protocatechuic ligand, which could form stable complexes with ferric ions to prevent their precipitation and also accelerate the Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle to enhance the ·OH generation. Meanwhile, the Fe(III)/PCA/H2O2 system could also work well at near natural pH even in the case of PCA concentration as low as 0.1 mmol/L. More importantly, both alachlor and PCA could be effectively mineralized in this Fenton system, suggesting the environmental benignity of PCA/Fe(III)/H2O2 Fenton system. We employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify the degradation intermediates of alachlor and then proposed a possible alachlor degradation mechanism in this novel Fenton oxidation system. This study provides an efficient way to remove chloroacetanilide herbicides, and also shed new insight into the possible roles of widely existed phenolic acids in the conversion and the mineralization of organic contaminants in natural aquatic environment.

Gallic acid mediated oxidation of pentachlorophenol by the Fenton reaction under mild oxidative conditions

“…16,33 Furthermore, in addition to the operating conditions of a Fenton system, the effect of substances present in the natural environment and wastewaters on the catalytic efficiency is also a matter of great concern especially for the removal of pollutants from environmental samples. 34,37,38 In this direction, a recent study by Papoutsakis et al demonstrated the enhancement of both the dark and photo-assisted Fenton reaction by cork boiling wastewater. 37 For this scenario, understanding mechanistic aspects of treatment processes is considered fundamental.…”

“…Despite the huge number of studies, the vast majority of the works presented in the literature focus on kinetic experiments while few works report long‐term experiments for pollutants degradation using the Fenton reaction . Furthermore, in addition to the operating conditions of a Fenton system, the effect of substances present in the natural environment and wastewaters on the catalytic efficiency is also a matter of great concern especially for the removal of pollutants from environmental samples . In this direction, a recent study by Papoutsakis et al .…”

Reductive dehalogenation of a chloroacetanilide herbicide in a flow electrochemical cell fitted with Ag‐modified Ni foams

“…9,10 Since chloroacetanilide herbicides are persistent and not readily biodegradable, their degradation by physico-chemical processes has been widely investigated. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Among these processes, the reductive dechlorination of chloroacetanilide herbicides seems to be particularly relevant since it is a selective and well-controlled process and it is likely to increase their biodegradability since chloro-groups are often responsible for the biorecalcitrance of substrates. 20 Most chlorinated molecules can be directly reduced on cathodes but at very cathodic potentials close to the reduction of water.…”

Management of wilt disease of chickpea in vivo by silver nanoparticles biosynthesized by rhizospheric microflora of chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

“…Green synthesis of nanoparticles has received attention due to its use of environment-friendly precursors for nanoparticles synthesis with many other advantages such as economic viability, ease of production, eco-friendly nature, avoiding the use of harmful chemicals, conditions of high temperature and pressure, and the expensive instruments required for physical and chemical methods. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Microorganisms have the ability to reduce heavy metal salts to metal nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution due to the presence of various reductase enzymes. 15 In a previous report, silver nanoparticles and PbS quantum dots were synthesized by Aspergillus sp.…”