Efficient transformation of DDTs with Persulfate Activation by Zero-valent Iron Nanoparticles: A Mechanistic Study

In this study, persulfate (PS) activation by nano-Fe(0) was used to degrade dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and the mechanism of this process was elucidated with EPR, GC-MS and free-radical quenching studies. It was found that DDT was degraded efficiently in PS/nano-Fe(0), and GC-MS analysis showed that benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, dichlorobenzophenone and 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-ethane were the dominant products of DDT degradation, while only dechlorination products (DDD and DDE) were observed in nano-Fe(0) without persulfate. EPR results showed that persulfate activation by nano-Fe(0) led to the production of more sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals, which accounted for DDT degradation. But the free radical quenching studies suggested that the addition of ethanol to PS/nano-Fe(0) favored the reductive dechlorination of DDT, which was ascribed that the formed ethanol radical (CH(CH3)OH) enhanced the reductive dechlorination of DDT. Furthermore, the nano-Fe(0) loading not only affected the degradation efficiency of DDT, but also influenced the intermediate product distribution of DDT degradation in the PS/nano-Fe(0) process.