Anodic oxidation with platinum electrodes for degradation of p-xylene in aqueous solution

Removal of p-xylene and effects of various parameters on the removal efficiency in aqueous solution with plasma are studied. Results indicate that the degradation rate can be effectively raised by decreasing the diameter of discharge electrode and electric conductivity of the aqueous solution, or by increasing the pH of the solution. The addition of H2O2, and especially FeSO4 is found to significantly enhance p-xylene degradation, but the presence of Na2CO3, Ce(SO4)2 and n-butanol inhibited the degradation of p-xylene. Some major intermediate products were detected by HPLC.