Abstract
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► Bisphenol A was effectively removed by Fe(VI) oxidation under a weak acidic condition. ► BPA degradation intermediates and end products included aromatic compounds. ► About 50% of BPA was completely mineralized. ► Humic acids in water greatly inhibited the BPA removal.
Recently there has been increasing concerns on widespread occurrence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic environment. Bisphenol A (BPA) in water was oxidized as a target EDC by K
2FeO
4 (Fe(VI)) in this study. The results showed that BPA was effectively removed within a broad initial water pH range of 5.0–9.5, especially under a weak acidic condition between the initial pH 5 and 6. When the initial BPA concentration was about 1.5
mg
L
-1, BPA could be completely removed with a oxidation time of 30
min and a Fe(VI)/BPA molar ratio of 3.0. After Fe(VI) oxidation, UV
254 of the water samples significantly increased, indicating that BPA degradation intermediates and end products still contained phenyl ring. Further online UV scanning showed that the UV absorbance obviously changed within the UV range of 190–215
nm and 230–300
nm during Fe(VI) oxidation. The DOC of water samples reduced with the increase of Fe(VI) dosage and prolonging of oxidation time, and about 50% of BPA was mineralized after Fe(VI) oxidation under a Fe(VI)/BPA molar ratio of 4.0. The influences of coexisting constituents such as humic acids,
SiO
3
2
-
,
HCO
3
-
and tert-butanol were studied. The results showed that humic acids and
SiO
3
2
-
notably inhibited the BPA removal; tert-butanol slightly decreased the BPA removal; and the existence of
HCO
3
-
slightly enhanced the BPA removal.