The degradation rate of PAP was considerably enhanced by CuO
loaded on natural Clinoptilolite zeolite under solar irradiation and in
the presence of hydrogen peroxide or potassium bromated, while
presence of inorganic anions such as sulfate and chloride decreased
it. Zeolite bed showed an important role in the photodegradation
process so pure CuO and natural zeolite did not have significant
photodegradation efficiency. The results showed that photocatalysis
is an effective process for degrading p-aminophenol and the degradation
kinetic of PAP can be described by Langmuir–Hinshelwood equation.
The results of COD decrease, HPLC and UV–vis spectra changes
indicate that the photocatalytic process can be used to degrade and
mineralize the PAP pollutant in a photochemical reactor. These results
lead us to propose the coupling of the CuO incorporated Clinoptilolite
and solar irradiation is more efficient method to mineralize PAP
molecules with respect to the direct photolysis