Asim B. Ray, A. Selvakumar, A. Tafuri
Jun 1, 2002
Citations
2
Influential Citations
12
Citations
Journal
Remediation Journal
Abstract
Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is commonly used as a fuel additive because of its many favorable properties that allow it to improve fuel combustion and reduce resulting concentrations of carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons. Unfortunately, increased production and use have led to its introduction into the environment. Of particular concern is its introduction into drinking water supplies. Accordingly, research studies have been initiated to investigate the treatment of MTBE-contaminated soil and groundwater. The summer 2000 issue of Remediation reported the results of an initial study conducted by the authors to evaluate the treatment of MTBE using Fenton's reagent. In this follow-up study, experiments were conducted to further demonstrate the effectiveness of using Fenton's reagent (H2O2:Fe+2) to treat MTBE-contaminated groundwater. The concentration of MTBE was reduced from an initial concentration of 1,300 μg/l (14.77 μ moles) to the regulatory level of 20 μg/l (0.23 μ moles) at a H2O2:Fe+2 molar ratio of 1:1, with ten minutes of contact time and an optimum pH of 5. The by-products, acetone and tertiary butyl alcohol, which are always present in MTBE in trace amounts, were not removed even after 60 minutes of reaction time. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.*