Treatability Evaluation of N-Hexadecane and 1-Methylnaphthalene during Fenton Reaction

In this study, the treatability of two target contaminants during the Fenton reaction, n-hexadecane and 1-methylnaphthalene, was evaluated as a function of the amounts of $FeCl_2$ and $H_2O_2$ injected into open and closed reaction systems. In the Fenton reaction of n-hexadecane and 1-methylnaphthalene, the mass recovery of the target contaminants was above 95% in the closed system. However, when the Fenton reaction was performed with high amounts of $H_2O_2$ and $FeCl_2$ injected in the open system, a reduction of approximately 40% of the initial mass of 1-methylnaphthalene was observed. This trend may be explained by the unique physical properties of 1-methylnaphthalene, which has higher volatility than n-hexadecane. Further, this trend was well correlated with the rise in high temperature at the initial reaction stage. Considering the mass recovery of the two target contaminants, the reaction temperature, and the residual concentration of $H_2O_2$ at different amounts of $FeCl_2$ and $H_2O_2$ injected, it can be suggested that the Fenton reaction should be performed with controlled conditions that can provide a suitable reaction environment between oxidant and contaminants.