Ultrasound-assisted heterogeneous activation of persulfate and peroxymonosulfate by asphaltenes for the degradation of BTEX in water

This study investigated – for the first time – the simultaneous degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX) by persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activated by asphaltenes (Asph) under ultrasound (US) irradiation. Advantageous properties such as high thermal stability, low production cost and extensive availability make asphaltenes as an appealing carbonaceous material for heterogeneous catalysis. The application of asphaltenes in PS/US increased the degradation of BTEXs from 31%, 34%, 35%, 32%–78%, 94%, 98% and 98%, while the removal of these compounds in PMS/US system was improved from 26%, 27%, 24%, 20%–76%, 91%, 97%, 97%, respectively. PS and PMS activation followed a typical…

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  National Center for Research and Development