Iron removal for kinetic studies on fenton treatments: A new approach based on ferrocyanide

A new approach based on ferrocyanide for iron removal in kinetic studies on Fenton treatments was developed and proposed. The influence of iron precipitation using the ferrocyanide treatment on the measured concentration of two model molecules (phthalic acid and meropenem) was studied. For this purpose, different solutions of phthalic acid and meropenem were prepared. Ferrous sulfate was added to the solutions after the adjustment of the pH value. Then, iron was removed by alkalization (traditional) and ferrocyanide treatments, this for phthalic acid. In the case of meropenem, the removal of iron was performed using only the ferrocyanide treatment due to a chemical modification of the molecule at (highly) alkaline conditions. According to the results, the application of ferrocyanide treatment did not affect the measurement of the concentration of phthalic acid and meropenem after the removal of iron. Moreover, some considerations are provided to apply this method to other molecules.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation processes, phthalic acid, meropenem, wastewater treatment, iron.