Water delignification by advanced oxidation processes: Homogeneous and heterogeneous Fenton and H2O2 photo-assisted reactions

The oxidation of lignin in synthetic aqueous solutions as well as in the biologically treated pulp-and-paper mill wastewater with hydrogen peroxide was studied in various methods: hydrogen peroxide UV-photolysis, homogeneous, heterogeneous and UV-assisted heterogeneous Fenton reactions, catalysed by FeZSM-5 zeolite. Contrasting the low-molecular organic contaminants, the oxidation of lignin in aqueous solutions was drastically slowed down in presence of heterogeneous FeZSM-5 zeolite, showing the superior performance of acidic homogeneous Fenton and hydrogen peroxide photolysis. This is explained by steric hindrance in oxidation of lignin with OH radicals on the catalyst surface and possible deactivation of lignin molecules adsorbed on the zeolite. The hydrogen peroxide photolysis among the studied delignification methods appeared to be the most efficient one in a wide range of pH.