This study investigated the degradation characteristics and biodegradability of phenol, refractory organic matters, by injecting MgO and CaO-known to be catalyst materials for the ozonation process-into a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma. MgO and CaO were injected at 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2 g/L, and the pH was not adjusted separately to examine the optimal injection amounts of MgO and CaO. When MgO and CaO were injected, the phenol decomposition rate was increased, and the reaction time was found to decrease by 2.1 to 2.6 times. In addition, during CaO injection, intermediate products combined with Ca2+ to cause precipitation, which increased the COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal rate by approximately 2.4 times. The biodegradability of plasma treated water increased with increase in the phenol decomposition rate and increased as the amount of the generated intermediate products increased. The biodegradability was the highest in the plasma reaction with MgO injection as compared to when the DBD plasma pH was adjusted. Thus, it was found that a DBD plasma can degrade non-biodegradable phenols and increase biodegradability.

This objective of this study was to investigate the degradation characteristics of phenol, a refractory substance, by using a submerged dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. To indirectly determine the concentration of active species produced in the DBD plasma, the dissolved ozone was measured. To investigate the phenol degradation characteristics, the phenol and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations were evaluated based on pH and the discharge power. The dissolved ozone was measured based on the air flow rate and power discharged. The highest dissolved ozone concentration was recorded when the injected air flow rate was 5 L/min. At a discharge power of 40W as compared to 70W, the dissolved ozone was approximately 2.7 – 6.5 times higher. In regards to phenol degradation, the final degradation rate was highest at about 74.06%, when the initial pH was 10. At a discharged power of 40W, the rate of phenol decomposition was observed to be approximately 1.25 times higher compared to when the discharged power was 70W. It was established that the phenol degradation reaction was a primary reaction, and when the discharge power was 40W as opposed to 70W, the reaction rate constant(k) was approximately 1.72 times higher.

A mathematical model was written for simulating the removal of phenol from wastewater in enzyme-loaded membrane reactor (EMR). The numerical simulation program was developed so as to predict the degradation of phenol through an EMR. Numerical model proves to be effective in searching for optimal operating conditions and creating an optimal microenvironment for the biocatalyst in order to optimize productivity. In this study, several dimensionless parameters such as Thiele Modulus (Φ2, dimensionless Michaelis-Menten constant (ξ), Peclet number (Pe) were introduced to simplify their effects on system efficiency. In particular, the study of phenol conversion at different feed compositions shows that low phenol concentrations and high Thiele Modulus values lead to higher reactant degradation.

With the rapid industrialization, an ever-increasing quantity and kind of new organic compounds pose environmental problems due to their toxicity and physiological effect. However, research on the biodegradation of these compounds under anaerobic condition is very limited inspite of its efficiency and economical advantage. In this research, the pH effect on the ring cleavage of phenol under anaerobic condition was investigated, and the theory of phase separation was applied to the degradation of phenol for investigating the role of acidogenic bacteria. Results, obtained from biochemical methane potential(BMP) assay for 15.5 days of incubation, showed that acidic condition was more desirable for phenol degradation than alkaline condition. By both unacclimated methanogenic granular sludge and two mixed cultures, phenol was completely removed within six weeks of incubation with a gas conversion rate of over 86% of theoretical one. However, phenol was not degraded by unacclimated acidogenic culture, and thus it is considered as a syntrophic substrate. In case of phase separated biochemical methane potential(PSBMP) assay, in which acidogenic and methanogenic culture were seeded separately and consecutively, those that had been subjected to normal acidogens for 3 to 4 weeks showed higher gas production than those seeded with sterile or frozen culture.

Electrochemical degradation of phenol was evaluated at DSA (dimensionally stable anode), JP202 (Ru, 25%; Ir, 25%; other, 50%) electrode for being a treatment method in non-biodegradable organic compounds such as phenol. Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of applied current (1.0~4.0 A), electrolyte type (NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4, H2SO4) and concentration (0.5~3.0 g/L), initial phenol concentration (12.5~100.0 mg/L) on phenol degradation and UV254 absorbance as indirect indicator of by-product degraded phenol. It was found that phenol concentration decreased from around 50 mg/L to zero after 10 min of electrolysis with 2.5 g/L NaCl as supporting electrolyte at the current of 3.5 A. Although phenol could be completely electrochemical degraded by JP202 anode, the degradation of phenol COD was required oxidation time over 60 min due to the generation of by-products. UV254 absorbance can see the impact of as an indirect indicator of the creation and destruction of by-product. The initial removal rate of phenol is 5.63 times faster than the initial COD removal rate.