JRHS 2014; 14(1): 36-39 JRHS Journal of Research in Health Sciences journal homepage: www.umsha.ac.ir/jrhs Original Article Microwave/H 2 O 2 Efficiency in Pentachlorophenol Removal from Aqueous Solutions Ghorban Asgari (PhD) a , AbdolMotaleb Seidmohammadi (PhD) b , Afsane Chavoshani (MSc) c* , Ali Reza Rahmani (PhD) b a Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran b Research Center for Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Ham- adan, Iran c Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT Article history: Received: 29 August 2013 Revised: 14 October 2013 Accepted: 25 November 2013 Available online: 09 December 2013 Background: Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is one of the most fungicides and pesticides. Acute and chronic poisoning from PCP may be occurred by dermal absorption, and respiration or ingestion. With respect to health and environmental effects of PCP, many methods were considered re- garding its removal. Microwave assisted other methods are environmental friendly, safety, and economical method, consequently, in this study; microwave assisted with hydrogen peroxide (MW/H2O2) was used for PCP removal from aquatic solutions. Methods: The possible of PCP removal was considered by application of a modified domestic microwave. PCP removal rate was considered under different factors such as H2O2 dose (0.01, 0.02, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mol/L), PCP concentration (100,200, 300, 400, 500, 750, 1000 mg/L), pH (3, 7, 11), energy intensity (180,450, 600W), COD (344mg/L), and scavenger testes (0.02 mol/L from each of Tert- butyl alcohol (TBA), NaCl, NaHCO3, and Na2CO3). The concentration changes of PCP were determined using spectrophotometer and HPLC spectra, respectively. Results: The best PCP removal was obtained in condition of pH 11, 0.2 mol/L H2O2, and 600 W energy intensity. Moreover, COD removal in this condition was 83%. Results obtained from radi- cal scavengers indicated that OH ° had only an initiator role, and had not a dominant role, and order reaction was in first order. Conclusion: The results of microwave/H2O2 application showed that this process is suitable for removal of PCP and other chlorinated organic compounds in alkaline pH. Keywords: Microwave H2O2 PCP Alkaline pH * Correspondence Afsane Chavoshani (MSc) Tel1: +98 831 7250071 Tel2: +98 937 4548889 E-mail: chavoshani.afsane@yahoo.com Citation: Asgari G, Seidmohammadi A, Chavoshani A, Rahmani AR. Microwave/H2O2 Efficiency in Pentachlorophenol Removal from Aqueous Solutions. J Res Health Sci. 2014;14(1):36-39. Introduction entachlorophenol (PCP) is widely used in the wood preserving industry and agriculture as a fungicide, pesticide and herbicide. The poisoning of PCP may be occurred by dermal absorption, respiration, ingestion, peripheral neuropathy and other problems related to nerve damage (neurotoxicity) 1 . PCP is a significant contaminant of soil, surface, and groundwater especially around sawmills and wood preserving facilities 2-5 . Researchers using a math- ematical model calculated that 96.5% of PCP is in soil, 2.5% in water, 1% in air, and less than 1% in suspended sediments and organisms in aquatic environments 1 . Therefore, PCP removal from aquatic solution is necessary, especially from alkaline wastewater. Nowadays, environmental researchers have considered the sustainable methods for refractory contaminants remov- al. Aqueous H 2 O 2 is an ecologically sustainable oxidant with high oxidation potential and water as the only by-product. However, oxidation with H 2 O 2 requires prior activation for radical production 7 . Recently, the application of microwave heating in combination with hydrogen peroxide (MW/H 2 O 2 ) for pollutants treatment has shown to be an efficient oxida- tion technology 6 . MW/H 2 O 2 process has showed high degra- dation efficiency, because it generates active species of hy- droxyl and other radicals with a redox potential. Usually, MW/H 2 O 2 has no need of catalyst separation and no poten- tial risk of environmental pollution, compared to some hy- brid MW systems 6,8,9 . In this study, due to an environmental-friendly as well as highly efficient method and low existence of specific work in this condition, analysis of the PCP removal was per- formed by MW/H 2 O 2 technology. Methods Sodium salt PCP, which is the sodium salt of PCP (C 6 Cl 5 ONa) with 98% purity, was used without further puri- fication. The characteristics of the PCP included of boiling point: 309-310C ° , mass molar: 288.32g/mol. The PCP solu- P