Heterogeneous electro-Fenton treatment: preparation, characterization and performance in groundwater pesticide removal

Abstract

In this work the preparation, characterization and performance of Y-zeolite as catalyst for electro-Fenton treatment of pesticides was carried out. Initially iron supported Y-zeolite (Fe-Y) was prepared and evaluated for the degradation of imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos. Kinetics studies determined that the pesticides removal followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. However, the reusability of this catalyst was not appropriated and to enhance its recyclability, Fe-Y catalyst was embedded in alginate (Al-Fe-Y). The new catalyst showed similar degradation efficiency; and the recyclability was improved. This study demonstrated that Al-Fe-Y could be efficiently used to remove commonly pesticides, imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos, of aqueous medium.