A study on oxidative degradation of polyacrylamide in wastewater with UV/FENTON/C₄H₄O₆²⁻

ABSTRACT

The degradation of polyacrylamide (PAM) in simulate wastewater was studied in UV/Fenton/C₄H₄O₆²⁻ system. The factors such as molecular ratio of H₂O₂/Fe²⁺/C₄H₄O₆²⁻, pH, and the dosage of Fenton reagent that could affect the PAM degradation in the UV/Fenton/C₄H₄O₆²⁻ system were investigated. The experimental results showed that adding C₄H₄O₆²⁻ to UV/Fenton system could form photosensitive ferrous complexes, which led to higher degradation efficiency of PAM. The degradation rate of PAM could be up to 95.2% under the following conditions: the concentration of H₂O₂, Fe²⁺, and C₄H₄O₆²⁻ were 22.5, 2.25, and 2.25 mmol/L, respectively (i.e., molecular ratio of H₂O₂/Fe²⁺/C₄H₄O₆²⁻ was 10:1:1), the pH value was 3.0.

KEYWORDS:

• Polyacrylamide
• UV/Fenton/C₄H₄O₆²⁻
• oxidation
• degradation
• wastewater