The system design of atrazine oxidation by catalytic oxidation process through a kinetic approach

A design method for the removal of atrazine (ATZ) by catalytic oxidation process (COP) was developed though examination of the reaction kinetics in various conditions. The reaction kinetics of ATZ decay in COP are found to consist of a reaction and a stagnant stage, while two characteristic constants, the initial decay rate and the oxidative capacity of the COP, are successfully derived and used to describe the two stages, respectively. The proposed model and the way to solve the two characteristic constants (the initial decay rate and the oxidative capacity) are capable of describing the ATZ degradation precisely in COP at different Fe(II) concentrations and [Fe(II)]/[H2O2] ratios, where the marginal [Fe(II)]/[ATZ] ratio at 10 is found to be the critical point to achieve a cost-effective treatment of ATZ by COP. A series of equations for practical completely mixed batch reactor design is also developed based on the two characteristic constants. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.