Trichloroethene degradation by UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process:: Product study and kinetic modeling

The broadband UV irradiation of 1.1 mM trichloroethene (TCE) aqueous solution in the presence of 10.4 mM H2O2 resulted in formic, oxalic, dichloroacetic (DCA), and monochloroacetic (MCA) acids, as organic byproducts. The organic chlorine was converted completely to chloride ion as a final product. TCE and its degradation products were completely mineralized in 30 min, under a volume-averaged UV-C irradiant power of 35.7 W/L from a 1 kW medium-pressure mercury vapor arc lamp. TCE degraded primarily through hydroxyl radical-induced reactions and only to a low extent through direct UV photolysis and chlorine atom-induced chain reactions. The experimental patterns of TCE, H2O2, and detected reaction products combined with the literature information on radical reactions in the aqueous phase were used to postulate a degradation mechanism and to develop a kinetic model to predict the TCE decay, formation and degradation of byproducts, and pH and oxygen profiles. The agreement between the model calculations and the experimental data is satisfactory.