Mechanistic aspects of oxalic acid oxidation by photocatalysis and ozonation

Oxalic acid has been oxidised in acidic aqueous solutions (pH 3) using photocatalysis and ozonation alone or coupled. The simultaneous presence of ozone, titanium dioxide and near UV irradiation increases the oxidation rate of oxalic acid to values greater than those deriving from the single contributions of photocatalysis and ozonation. In particular in the present paper ozonation alone, heterogeneous photocatalysis and also combined ozonation with heterogeneous photocatalysis have been used for the oxidation of oxalic acid at acidic pH in the presence of TiO2 Degussa P25. A likely mechanism, able to explain both the homogeneous and heterogeneous processes, is discussed.