Medium pressure UV combined with chlorine advanced oxidation for trichloroethylene destruction in a model water

The effectiveness of ultraviolet (UV) combined with chlorine as a novel advanced oxidation process (AOP) for drinking water treatment was evaluated in a bench scale study by comparing the rate of trichloroethylene (TCE) decay when using UV/chlorine to the rates of decay by UV alone and UV/hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at various pH values. A medium pressure mercury UV lamp was used. The UV/chlorine process was more efficient than the UV/H2O2 process at pH 5, but in the neutral and alkaline pH range, the UV/H2O2 process became more efficient. The pH effect was probably controlled by the increasing concentration of OCl- at higher pH values. A mechanistic kinetic model of the UV/chlorine treatment of TCE showed good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.