ESTUDO DA DEGRADAÇÃO DE ÁGUAS CONTAMINADAS ARTIFICIALMENTE POR GASOLINA COMUM VIA SISTEMA FENTON E FOTO-FENTON

Abstract

Oil spills and their derivatives are the main source of water contamination, among them the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) present in gasoline are some of the most toxic compounds that need to be degraded. Therefore, there is a need for a study of the recently applied advanced processes for remediation considering the characteristics of gasoline marketed in Brazil. In addition, toxicity studies can contribute to assessing the actual quality of contaminated water after remediation, that is assessing impacts to the environment. In this context, the objective of this work was to study the Fenton and photo-Fenton degradation processes for the remediation of water contaminated with benzene, toluene and xylenes and toxicity. The methodology used to determine the BTX was via gas chromatography being the form of extraction through the headspace. A gasoline spill was simulated in water to obtain a soluble fraction where it was possible to verify by Total Organic Carbon the concentration present in the medium. Using the factorial design of experiments, it was possible to verify the best condition of iron and hydrogen peroxide to be used in the Fenton and photo-Fenton process, that is, the concentration where there is greater removal of BTX. The chosen values being 5 mg L-1 of iron and 15 mg L-1 of hydrogen peroxide. The monitoring of phenolic compounds showed that in the first few minutes of reaction phenolic species formation and subsequent decrease, but remaining still significant (approximately 20%) at the end of 120 minutes. Thus, these results have shown that for effective mineralization larger reaction times are still needed. In the determination of the residual peroxide and ferrous and ferric ions it was based by the calorimetric method showing that at the end of the Fenton processes peroxide was not as consumed as in the photo-Fenton process where more hydroxyl radicals (HO) are generated. Toxicity tests performed with the Sinapis alba and Daphnia magna bioindicators for toxicity assessment showed that the by-products formed during the degradation systems caused toxicity to the test organisms used. Thus, it is evident that in addition to the physico-chemical parameters normally evaluated, there is also a need for toxicity studies to evaluate the true impact on the environment of water submitted to this type of remediation.