Mineralization of phenol in aqueous solution by ozonation using iron or copper salts and light

The degradation of aqueous phenol (100 mg l−1) solutions using ozone, iron III and ultraviolet radiation has been carried out in two different devices: a laboratory installation and a pilot plant. From the results, it has been observed that mineralization of phenol solution is faster with the use of O3/UV/Fe3+ than with simple ozonation. Additionally, some experiments have shown that the substitution of the iron salts by copper salts may be an interesting option to degrade the phenol at non-acidic conditions.