Microwave-assisted method to degrade phenol using persulfate or hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by Cu-bearing silicon carbide.

The radical generation properties of hydrogen peroxide and persulfate for phenol degradation were investigated under microwave irradiation using copper-doped silicon carbide (Cu/SiC) composites as catalyst. The results showed that 90% and 70% of phenol and total organic carbon (TOC), respectively, were removed within 7 min. Microwave activation of hydrogen peroxide and sodium persulfate in terms of thermal effects and accelerated electron transfer was analyzed by degradation kinetics and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The microwave activation of Na2S2O8 demonstrated that the hot spots promote decomposition of persulfate more rapidly and the rate of persulfate decomposition was more than three times the activation rate of a normal heating method. There is a synergistic effect between Cu and microwave radiation, which is highlighted by the H2O2 activation; ·OH was generated due to the redox cycle between Cu(I)/Cu(II) and was responsible for phenol degradation using H2O2. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that hydroxylation and sulfate radicals addition of phenol were the initial oxidation reaction steps of hydrogen peroxide and persulfate, respectively, followed by further oxidation to form short-chain carboxylic acids.