Degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in water by glow discharge plasma

摘要

This study evaluated the ability of the glow discharge plasma (GDP) technique to degrade methyl tert-nbutyl ether (MTBE) in an aqueous solution. The results showed that a large amount of hydrogennperoxide and highly active •nOH free radicals were produced during the treatment. Variousnexperimental parameters including discharge current, initial MTBE concentration and initial pHnplayed significant roles on MTBE degradation. In addition, Fe2þ had a catalytic effect on thendegradation of MTBE, which is potentially attributable to the reaction between Fe3þ and the hydratednelectron. It was also confirmed that GDP was comparable to electrocatalytic oxidation and high-ndensity plasma and more efficient than photocatalytic degradation techniques. These results suggestnthat GDP may become a competitive MTBE wastewater treatment technology.