Dechlorination of chlorophenols found in pulp bleach plant E-1 effluents by advanced oxidation processes

Studies were conducted on the response of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (1), 2,3,4,5-tetrachloro-phenol (2) and 4,5-dichloroguaiacol (3) toward advanced oxidation processes, such as UV-, O2/UV-, H2O2/UV-, O3/UV- and O3-H2O2/UV-photolyses with irradiation of 254nm photons. The compounds 1-3 are among the chlorophenols found in the Kraft-pulp bleach plant E-1 effluents. The studies were extended to treatment of these compounds with ozonation and O3-H2O2 oxidation systems in alkaline aqueous solution. Except for the O2/UV-photolysis of 1 and H2O2/UV-photolysis of 2, the dechlorination of 1-3 by O2/UV- and H2O2/UV-potolyses were less effective than the corresponding N2/UV-potolysis of 1-3. Guaiacol-type chlorophenols were more readily able to undergo dechlorination than non-guaiacol type chlorophenols by N2/UV-, O2/UV- and H2O2/UV-potolyses. In addition, the efficiency for the dechlorination of 1-3 by N2/UV-, O2/UV- and H2O2/UV-potolyses appeared to be dependent upon the inductive and resonance effects of substituents as well as number and position of chlorine substituent in the aromatic ring of the compounds. The dechlorination of 2 by treatment with O3 alone is slightly more effective than the corresponding the O3/UV-photlysis, whereas the dechlorination of 2 by treatment with the combination of O3 and H2O2 was slightly less effective than the corresponding O3-H2O2/UV-photolysis. In contrast, the dechlorination of 3 on treatment with O3 alone was slightly less effective than the corresponding the O3/UV-photolysis, whereas the dechlorination of 3 on treatment with the combination of O3 and H2O2 was slightly more effective than the corresponding the O3-H2O2/UV-photolysis. In the dechlorination of 2 and 3, chemical species derived from ozone and hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solution were dominant reactions in the O3/UV- and O3-H2O2/UV-photolysis systems as in the O3 and O3-H2O2 oxidation systems. Possible dechlorination mechanisms involved were discussed on the basis of kinetic data.