Degradation of thiophanate-methyl fungicide by photo-Fenton process using lab-scale annular and solar tubular reactors

In this work, thiophanate-methyl fungicide was degraded by the homogeneous photo-Fenton process using lab-scale annular and solar tubular reactors. A UV light was used as artificial irradiation source in the lab-scale reactor. The influence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) dosage and initial pollutant concentration on the process efficiency was investigated. Degradation efficiency of thiophanate-methyl fungicide was monitored by measuring the total organic carbon (TOC). The results revealed that the variable H2O2 dosage showed remarkable effect on the process efficiency, whereas the fungicide concentration showed little influence. Both reactors showed similar efficiencies, reaching a fungicide mineralisation of 80% at 120 min of reaction time. Therefore, both reactors demonstrate to be effective on the thiophanate-methyl degradation from aqueous solution.