Background and purpose: Phenol is an aromatic hydrocarbon and one of the banzan derivatives which have a higher dissolution rate in water and common methods cannot completely remove it. The main objective of this research was to study removal of phenol using UV/ZnO.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a batch system. the experiments was conducted in a reactor with a capacity of 1 liter using zinc oxide nanoparticles that fixed on glass with the thermal fixing method and UVc radiation were used. The effects of initial concentration of phenol, solution pH, and contact time on the photocatalytic removal of phenol were studied. [MP2D1] 

Results: The results showed that the best conditions for the removal of phenol were achieved at  pH 3, 5 mg/L initial phenol concentration, 3950 μw/cm² radiation intensity and 120 min contact time (100% removal efficiency). The pH, initial phenol concentration, and contact time have an effect on phenol removal efficiency; the phenol removal efficiency increases with the decrease of initial phenol concentration and pH.

Conclusion: Results of the present study showed that the photocatalytic degradation process (UV/ZnO) is an effective method in removal of phenol from aqueous solutions.