Oxidation of Cumene Hydroperoxide by Fenton Process

Cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) is an intermediate from the cumene process used in the phenol production plants. CHP is toxic and classified as a hazardous substance. This research aimed to study the treatability of CHP-containing wastewater from phenol production through Fenton reaction. Ferrous (Fe2+) could catalytically stimulate the decomposition of CHP to generate hydroxyl radicals which have sufficient oxidizing power to remove other pollutants co-existing in the wastewater like hydrogen peroxide. Hence, the addition of Fe2+ to phenol production wastewater can provide two sequential benefits in a view of wastewater treatment. It was found that CHP decomposed rapidly with high efficiency at pH 3.0. The CHP:Fe2+ stoichiometric ratio was found to be less than 1.0. Addition pattern of Fe2+ did not have any significant impact on CHP decomposition.