Insight into PPCP degradation by UV/NH2Cl and comparison with UV/NaClO: Kinetics, reaction mechanism, and DBP formation

The UV/NH 2 Cl process is an emerging advanced oxidation process (AOP) that is greatly effective in degrading pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). However, detailed information regarding the process is lacking. The degradation of ibuprofen (IBP, an electron-withdrawing PPCP) and naproxen (NPX, an electron-donating PPCP) in UV/NH 2 Cl and UV/NaClO processes was performed to investigate the applicability and security of the UV/NH 2 Cl process and compare with those of UV/NaClO. UV/NH 2 Cl was effective in degrading both IBP and NPX and the degradation followed pseudo-first order kinetics (k IBP  = 0.0037 cm 2 /mJ and k NPX  = 0.0044 cm 2 /mJ). This indicated the broad applicability of UV/NH 2 Cl to different kinds of PPCPs. Ranges of values of UV intensity (0.3–1.0 mW/cm 2 ) and pH (6.0–8.0) showed little effect on the degradation of PPCPs by UV/NH 2 Cl based on UV Dose but HCO 3 − (2–8 mM), natural organic matter (NOM, 2–8 mg/L), and the natural water matrixes were inhibitory. Increasing the dosage of NH 2 Cl from 0.15 mM to 0.75 mM, resulted in an even increase of k IBP ; however, k NPX increased slowly after 0.3 mM NH 2 Cl. Mechanism experiments involving nitrobenzene showed that •OH was the major radical involved in degrading IBP and NPX via UV/NH 2 Cl. The electron spin resonance spectroscopy and kinetic modeling results also indicated the larger amount of •OH and weaker reactive chlorine species (mainly ClO• and ClO 2 •) in UV/NH 2 Cl compared with UV/NaClO. Compared to UV/NaClO in synthetic and natural water, UV/NH 2 Cl was a more stable degrader with little pH- and substrate-dependence, while UV/NaClO preferred degrading the electron-donating PPCP and at low pH. The UV/NH 2 Cl produced less halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) (even nitrogenous DBPs) and was less cytotoxic theoretically than UV/NaClO based on the DBPs included in this study. Thus UV/NH 2 Cl process may be an effective AOP for water treatment .