Soluble manganese (II) and amorphous and crystalline manganese (IV) oxides were investigated as catalysts for the Fenton-like decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into oxidants and reductants. 1-Hexanol was used as a hydroxyl radical probe and carbon tetrachloride (CT) was used as a reductant probe. Soluble manganese (II)-catalyzed reactions at acidic pH resulted in >99% degradation of 1-hexanol and no measurable transformation of CT, indicating that hydroxyl radicals were generated but reductants were not. However, when these reactions were conducted at near-neutral pH, an amorphous manganese oxide precipitate formed and 89% of the CT degraded in 60 min , while 1-hexanol degradation was negligible. Using an amorphous manganese oxide synthesized in a separate reactor, CT was rapidly degraded while 1-hexanol oxidation was undetectable. Reactions catalyzed by the crystalline manganese oxide pyrolusite (β-Mn O2 ) at near-neutral pH also resulted in significant CT degradation, indicating that reductants are gen...

Wine industry wastewaters contain a high concentration of organic biodegradable compounds as well as a great amount of suspended solids. These waters are difficult to treat by conventional biological processes because they are seasonal and a great flow variation exists. Photocatalytic advanced oxidation is a promising technology for waters containing high amounts of organic matter. In this study we firstly investigated the application of H₂O₂ as oxidant combined with light (artificial or natural) in order to reduce the organic matter in samples from wine industry effluents. Secondly, we studied its combination with heterogeneous catalysts: titanium dioxide and clays containing iron minerals. The addition of photocatalysts to the system reduces the required H₂O₂ concentration. Although the H₂O₂/TiO₂ system produces higher efficiencies, the H₂O₂/clays system requires a H₂O₂ dosage between three and six times lower.