A Comparative Study of Fenton-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes for PVC and LDPE Microplastics Removal

The presence of plastics in the environment, particularly in micro and nano forms, poses significant environmental and health risks. This study investigated Fenton-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), including Fenton, electro-Fenton and Fered-Fenton, for removing two common microplastics: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The experiments were conducted at room temperature and a pH of 3, under the conditions of 0.1 g of microplastics, 100 mL of water, 1.5 mL of H 2 O 2 and 1.5 mL of Fe 2+ (concentration: 0.2 M), with a constant voltage of 10 kV and a current of 5 mA, conducting four cycles lasting 5 h. The results indicate that the Fered-Fenton process demonstrated the highest removal rates, achieving 30.6% for PVC and 27.4% for LDPE compared to 22.78% and 19.9% for the Fenton process and 25.4% and 22.4% for the electro-Fenton process. These findings indicate higher removal percentages for PVC and LDPE compared to other studies.