Pentachlorophenol Removal from Water by Soybean Peroxidase and Iron(II) Salts Concerted Action

Soybean peroxidase (SBP) has been employed for the treatment of aqueous solutions containing pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide at pH range 5–7. Reaction carried out with 1 mg/L of PCP, 4 mg/L of H2O2, and 1.3 × 10−9 M of SBP showed a fast initial elimination of PCP (ca. 30% in 20 min), but the reaction does not go beyond the removal of 50% of the initial concentration of PCP. Modification in SBP and PCP amounts did not change the reaction profile and higher amounts of H2O2 were detrimental for the reaction. Addition of Fe(II) to the system resulted in an acceleration of the process to reach nearly complete PCP removal at pH 5 or 6; this is more probably due to a synergetic effect of the enzymatic process and Fenton reaction. However, experiments developed in tap water resulted in a lower PCP elimination, but this inconvenience can be partly overcome by leaving the tap water overnight in an open vessel before reaction.