Hydrogen Peroxide

Since it was first commercialized in the 1800’s, hydrogen peroxide production has now grown to over a billion pounds per year (as 100%). In addition to pollution control, hydrogen peroxide is used to bleach textiles and paper products, and to manufacture or process foods, minerals, petrochemicals, and consumer products (detergents). Its use for pollution control parallels those of the movement itself — municipal wastewater applications in the 1970’s; industrial waste/wastewater applications in the 1980’s; and more recently, air applications in the 1990’s. Today, hydrogen peroxide is readily available throughout the U.S. in drum, tote, mini-bulk, and bulk quantities in a variety of concentrations.

It is one of the most powerful oxidizers known — stronger than chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and potassium permanganate. And through catalysis, H2O2 can be converted into hydroxyl radicals (•OH) with reactivity second only to fluorine.

Despite its power, H2O2 is a natural metabolite of many organisms, which decompose the H2O2 they produce into oxygen and water. H2O2 is also formed by the action of sunlight on water — a natural purification system for our environment. Consequently, H2O2 has none of the problems of gaseous release or chemical residues that are associated with other chemical oxidants. And since H2O2 is totally miscible with water, the issue of safety is one of concentration. Industrial strength H2O2 is a strong oxidizer and as such requires special handling precautions.

The fact that hydrogen peroxide is used for seemingly converse applications proves its versatility. For example, it can inhibit microbial growth (as in the biofouling of water circuits) and encourage microbial growth (as in the bioremediation of contaminated groundwaters and soils). Similarly, it can treat both easy-to-oxidize pollutants (iron and sulfides) and difficult to oxidize pollutants (solvents, gasolines and pesticides).

The reason why H2O2 can be used for such diverse applications is the different ways in which its power can be directed — termed selectivity. By simply adjusting the conditions of the reaction (e.g., pH, temperature, dose, reaction time, and/or catalyst addition), H2O2 can often be made to oxidize one pollutant over another, or even to favor different oxidation products from the same pollutant.