Enhanced Degradation of Nitrobenzene by Ozone/Zeolite Process

Degradation of nitrobenzene by ozone/zeolite process was investigated under different experimental conditions. The results showed that the removal efficiency of nitrobenzene was significantly promoted in the presence of zeolite compared with the case of ozonation alone. By investigating the effect of tertbutyl alcohol on nitrobenzene removal, it was concluded that nitrobenzene was mainly degraded by hydroxyl radicals in solution. The degradation rate of ozone/zeolite process was inhibited significantly by increasing ionic strength. When the ionic strength concentration increased from 0 to 1times10^-3 mol/L, the removal of nitrobenzene by ozone/zeolite process decreased from 81.2% to 31.6% correspondingly. The pH mainly affected the decomposition rate of ozone. As pH decreased, the degradation rate of nitrobenzene by ozone/zeolite process decreased. Finally, the adsorption of ozone on H-form zeolite was investigated. The results showed that ozone can be adsorbed on H-form zeolite, and finally decomposed.