Hydrogen Peroxide

The table below lists the oxidation Potential scale, hydrogen peroxide is more powerful than chlorine or chlorine dioxide for instance. Furthermore through catalysis, hydrogen peroxide can be converted into hydroxyl radicals which is the second stronger oxidant after fluorine.

There are several advantages in using H₂O₂:

• Powerful
• Safe
• Versatile
• Selective
• Widely used

The main applications of H₂O₂ are numerous, such as the odor control, corrosion control, BOD/COD removal, organic oxidation, metal oxidation, toxicity oxidation and disinfection. Besides hydrogen peroxide can be combinated with different processes to improve the results: flocculation/precipitation, Air flotation, biotreatement, filtration, carbon adsorption, air scrubbers and incineration.

The most difficult pollutant to oxidize may require H₂O₂ to be activated with catalysts such as iron, copper, manganese or other transition metal compounds. The most common used solution catalyst is iron, which when is used with H₂O₂ is called Fenton's reaction.

Resource: US Peroxide