Applicability of Fenton and H2O2/UV reactions in the treatment of tannery wastewaters

In this paper we evaluated the H2O2/UV and the Fenton’s oxidation processes for the treatment of tannery wastewater under different experimental conditions. Efficiencies were judged by the amounts of organic substances degraded or eliminated under these treatment techniques. Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri were used to monitor toxicity. Organic compounds contained in the untreated and treated tannery wastewater were determined and identified using substance specific techniques. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in positive electron impact (EI(+)) mode was applied to determine volatile organics. Atmospheric pressure ionization (API) mass (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) coupled with flow injection analysis (FIA) or liquid chromatography (LC) were used to detect or identify polar organic pollutants. The experimental results indicated that both oxidation processes––H2O2/UV at pH 3 and Fenton at pH 3.5––are able to reduce TOC content by mineralisation of the organic compounds.