The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of applying acid/H2O2/basic oxygen furnace slag
(BOF slag) and acid/S2O2
8 /BOF slag systems to enhance the chemical oxidation of trichloroethylene
(TCE)-contaminated groundwater. Results from the bench-scale study indicate that TCE oxidation via
the Fenton-like oxidation process can be enhanced with the addition of BOF slag at low pH (pH =
2–5.2) and neutral (pH = 7.1) conditions. Because the BOF slag has iron abundant properties (14% of
FeO and 6% of Fe2O3), it can be sustainably reused for the supplement of iron minerals during the Fenton-like
or persulfate oxidation processes. Results indicate that higher TCE removal efficiency (84%)
was obtained with the addition of inorganic acid for the activation of Fenton-like reaction compared with
the experiments with organic acids addition (with efficiency of 10–15% lower) (BOF slag = 10 g L1
; initial
pH = 5.2). This could be due to the fact that organic acids would compete with TCE for available oxidants.
Results also indicate that the pH value had a linear correlation with the observed first-order decay constant
of TCE, and thus, lower pH caused a higher TCE oxidation rate.