Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: zeolite; advanced oxidation; TCE. Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-60).

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is one of the most common groundwater pollutants in the United States. The EPA estimated that between 9% and 34% of the drinking water sources in the United States may contain TCE. The United States Environmental Protection Agency set a maximum contaminant level at 5 µg/L of trichloroethylene for drinking water. This study investigated the feasibility of removing TCE from water by sorption to ZSM-5 and advanced oxidation to destroy the TCE on the zeolite. Aqueous oxidation of TCE with Fenton's reagent was shown to be efficient for the destruction of TCE. The quantified by-products were cis-DCE and trans-DCE. ZSM-5 rapidly removed TCE from water. A Freundlich isotherm was created for the uptake of TCE by ZSM-5. Once TCE was sorbed to ZSM-5, preliminary experiments showed that the oxidation was able to destroy the TCE while producing the same by-products.