Advanced oxidation process for degradation of aqueous phenol in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

A novel dielectric barrier discharge reactor was developed for the oxidative degradation of organic pollutants in water. Phenol, chosen as a model compound, is efficiently removed from the aqueous solution according to an exponential decay as a function of treatment time at constant voltage. The effect of different experimental variables was investigated, including the active electrodes material and size and the flow rate of air above the solution. A few intermediates and CO2, the final product of phenol decomposition, were detected and identified by LC/ESI-MS and FT/IR analysis. The major reactive species formed upon application of the discharge in air, the OH radical and ozone, were determined by means of specific chemical probes.