Whether peracetic acid-based oxidation process is an alternative to the traditional Fenton process in organic pollutants degradation and actual wastewater treatment?

Industrialization has exerted significant adverse effects on water quality, leading to an increasing demand for environmentally friendly and high-efficiency technologies. The traditional Fenton process has been recognized as a viable method for treating challenging industrial wastewater. Recently, peracetic acid (PAA)-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have emerged as a promising Fenton-like technology for efficient wastewater treatment. To evaluate the potential application of this technology in industrial wastewater treatment, the Fe(II)/PAA and Fe(II)/H2O2 processes were compared. The PAA/Fe(II) process demonstrates greater effectiveness at lower oxidant dosages for pollutant degradation. Specifically, within a pH range of 3.0-5.0, the Fe(II)/PAA process showed superior degradation efficiency compared to the Fe(II)/H2O2 process under optimal conditions for both processes (Fe(II): H2O2 = 100 µM: 200 µM and Fe(II): PAA = 100 µM: 100 µM). Furthermore, the PAA/Fe(II) process exhibits a higher tolerance to various water matrices. When treating actual wastewater, the PAA/Fe(II) process significantly improves the value of BOD5/COD of dinitrodiazophenol (DDNP) and pharmaceutical wastewaters from 0.157 and 0.292 to 0.518 and 0.651, respectively, surpassing the enhancement of biodegradability by the H2O2/Fe(II) system. The PAA/Fe(II) system also demonstrates superior performance in reducing biological toxicity. In conclusion, this study offers a comparative analysis of the emerging PAA/Fe(II) process versus the traditional H2O2/Fe(II) process, highlighting the potential strengths and limitations of using PAA as an alternative to H2O2 in wastewater treatment.