Impact of seawater salinity on the sonochemical removal of emerging organic pollutants

Abstract

The results presented in this study illustrate the multiple roles of seawater salinity toward the sonochemical degradation, at variable frequencies (300–1700 kHz), of several hazardous substances, i.e. propylparaben (PPR) endocrine disruptor and several synthetic dyes: naphthol blue black (NBB), malachite green (MG), basic red 29 (BR29), acid orange 7 (AO7), Rhodamine B (RhB) and basic fuchsin (BF). Sonochemical treatment degraded all pollutants in seawater at faster rates than in deionized water. The seawater-salts through increasing the ionic strength of the solution act as a potential pusher of hydrophilic pollutants toward the reactive interfacial area of cavitation bubbles. Additionally, the salts reduce the bubble coalescence, which yields higher number of active bubbles in the irradiating media. Analysing the degradation rate of PPR and NBB with two heterogeneous models based on Langmuir kinetics mechanism indicated that the bubble interfacial area was the preferred reaction zone for the ultrasonic degradation of PPR and NBB in seawater.