Degradation of carbofuran-contaminated water by the Fenton process

In this study, the Fenton process was applied for the degradation of carbofuran from aqueous system. Batch experiments were conducted at two different carbofuran concentrations i.e., 10 and 50 mg/L, and at pH 3. Batch experiments at each carbofuran concentration were designed by central composite design (CCD) with two independent variables i.e. Fe2+ and H2O2. Experimental results indicate that more than 90% of carbofuran removal was observed within 5 mins of Fenton reaction at 5 mg/L of Fe2+ concentration and 100 mg/L of H202 concentration. Increases in Fe2+ and/or H2O2 concentrations beyond 5 and 100 mg/L, respectively produced 100% carbofuran removal. Based on the experimental observations, the optimal Fe2+ and H2O2 dosages required for 10 mg/L of aqueous carbofuran removal were estimated as 7.4 and 143 mg/L, respectively. During this study, three carbofuran intermediates such as 7-benzofuranol,2,3,-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl, 7-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-benzofuran-3-one and 1,4-Benzene-di-carboxaldehyde were identified using GC/MS analyses.