Degradation of ketoprofen using iron-supported ZSM-5 catalyst via heterogeneous Fenton oxidation

Heterogeneous Fenton oxidation provides an alternative method of degrading ketoprofen from wastewater. The purpose of this study is investigate the degradation of ketoprofen using iron-supported ZSM5 zeolite catalyst. Iron was impregnated into ZSM5 via the impregnation method, with loading variation of 1wt% and 3.5wt% Fe/ZSM5. Characterization of the catalyst was performed using XRD, SEM, ICP-OES, TGA, BET and TPD. Batch degradation reaction were performed with a working volume of 100 mL ketoprofen solution, mechanically stirred at 900 rpm. Amount of H2O2 used was equivalent to 11 times (in excess) the required stoichiometric amount for ketoprofen mineralization. Catalyst loading was varied between 1 g/L and 4 g/L. HPLC was utilized in determining ketoprofen concentration in the solution during the degradation reaction. Ketoprofen degradation of 100% was observed after 20 minutes using catalyst with 3.5% weight at 4 g/L loading. Iron leaching was also measured using ICP-OES to compare the amount of iron leached between heterogeneous and homogenous Fenton reaction. Percentage of iron leached showed 8.93% and 57.09% for heterogeneous and homogenous Fenton reaction, respectively. The study showed promising results in degrading ketoprofen using an iron-supported ZSM5 via the heterogeneous Fenton reaction with lower iron leaching percentage compared to homogenous Fenton reaction.