A comparative study on the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,5-dichlorophenol using DBD non-thermal plasma reactor

Abstract The dichlorophenol compound group (DCP) is one of the pollutants contained in industrial wastewater. This component is difficult to degrade in the environment, subsequently leading to hazards and a severe impact on human health. Based on the location of the chlorine atom in the aromatic ring, the variety present in some isomers ought to be removed from the water, in order to reduce the impact. Therefore, the technology adopted to eliminate the DCP concentration levels in wastewater includes the application of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma reactor of high efficiency. This set up implements advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) by relying on highly active species, specifically ‧OH and O3. The aim of this study, therefore, is to compare the effectiveness of DBD reactors in the degradation activity on isomer 2,4-DCP and 2,5-DCP under acidic (pH 4) and alkaline (pH 10) conditions. The results showed the highest percentage removal (89.05%) after 120 minutes process of 2.5-DCP degradation, under the following conditions: pH 10; flow rate 50 mL/minute; airflow rate of 2.5 L/min; plasmatron voltage of 19 kV. Under similar circumstances, 2,4-DCP was reduced by 86.95%. In addition, the COD content in the waste material reached 46.88% and 46.14%, respectively.