Ultrasound-assisted mineralization of organic contaminants using a recyclable LaFeO3 and Fe3+/persulfate Fenton-like system.

A recyclable heterogeneous catalyst has been successfully developed for application in a Fenton-type advanced oxidation process without adding external H2O2. LaFeO3 was prepared from Fe(NO3)3·9H2O and La(NO3)·6H2O by a simple sol-gel method and its catalytic efficiency was evaluated for mineralization of 4-chlorophenol using a Fenton-like process. The mineralization process was carried out under ultrasonication in presence of heterogeneous LaFeO3 catalyst with H2O2 that was produced during ultrasonication. The mineralization process was monitored through total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Very importantly, utmost 5-fold synergism was evidenced by the ultrasound mediated LaFeO3-catalyzed system. Besides, more than twofold synergism was observed by combining the ultrasound assisted LaFeO3 catalytic process and potassium persulfate (KPS) assisted advanced oxidation process. It is worth to mention that complete mineralization (∼96%) of 4-chlorophenol (initial concentration of 1.25×10-4M) was observed within 1h in the presence of LaFeO3 (0.5gL-1) and KPS (1.0mmol) under ultrasonication (40kHz). Even after four cycles, the activity of LaFeO3 remained intact which proved its recyclability. Extremely reusable heterogeneous LaFeO3 catalyst makes the system more interesting from both economic and environmental points of view.