Abstract for presentation at Chemeca 2007

A Rapid Fractionation Study to Understand Natural Organic Matter Oxidation by TiO2 Photocatalytic Process

  • Sanly Sanly, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Rolando Fabris, Australian Water Quality Centre, Australia
  • Dr May Lim, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Dr Christopher Chow, Australian Water Quality Centre, Australia
  • Dr Ken Chiang, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Mary Drikas, Australian Water Quality Centre, Australia
  • Prof Rose Amal, University of New South Wales, Australia

    • In this study, the photocatalytic oxidation of natural water sample taken from Lake Myponga was investigated. Amount of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), UV254 absorbance, and trihalomethane formation potentials (THMFPs) of the water treated under different process conditions were monitored. The changes in the apparent molecular weight distributions of HA were also analysed using High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC). A Rapid Resin Fractionation technique in which the treated water samples was fractionated into four components: very hydrophobic acid (VHA), slightly hydrophobic acid (SHA), hydrophilic charged (CHA), and hydrophilic neutral (NEU), was used to further elucidate the oxidation mechanism. The results showed that the degradation processes occurred via the fragmentation of the hydrophobic VHA and SHA fractions to form hydrophilic CHA fraction. The degradation process was further enhanced via the addition of hydrogen peroxide. The apparent molecular weight profile of the organics was decreased as a result of photocatalytic oxidation. Removal of the inorganic carbon species resulted in more effective decrease of THMFP.

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