Standard Gibbs free energies of reactions of ozone with free radicals in aqueous solution: quantum-chemical calculations

UV-induced reactive species dynamics and product formation by chlorite

Chlorite (ClO2-) is a regulated byproduct of chlorine dioxide water treatment processes. The transformation of chlorite under UV irradiation into chloride (Cl-) and chlorate (ClO3-) involves reactive species chain reactions that could enhance chlorine dioxide water treatment efficiency while reducing residual chlorite levels. This study conducted a mechanistic investigation of chlorite phototransformation by analyzing reaction intermediates and stable end products, including chlorine dioxide (ClO2), free chlorine (HOCl/OCl-), hydroxyl‑radical (•OH), Cl-, and ClO3- through combined experimental and modeling approaches. Experiments were performed at UV254 irradiation in pure buffered water within the pH range of 6 to 8. Results indicated that the apparent quantum yields for chlorite phototransformation increased from 0.86 to 1.45, and steady-state •OH concentrations at 1 mM initial chlorite concentration rose from 8.16 × 10-14 M - 16.1 × 10-14 M with decreasing pH values. It was observed that under UV irradiation, chlorite acts as both a significant producer and consumer of reactive species through three distinct reaction pathways. The developed kinetic model, which incorporates optimized intrinsic chlorite quantum yields Φchloritein ranging from 0.33 to 0.39, effectively simulated the loss of oxidants and the formation of major products. It also accurately predicted steady-state concentrations of various species, including •OH, •ClO, Cl• and O3. For the first time, this study provides a comprehensive transformation pathway scheme for chlorite phototransformation. The findings offer important insights into the mechanistic aspects of product and oxidizing species formation during chlorite phototransformation.

Comprehensive effect of water matrix on catalytic ozonation of chloride contained saline wastewater

Chloride ion (Cl^-) is one of the most common anions in wastewater and saline wastewater, but its elusive effects on organics degradation are not clear yet in many cases. In this paper, the effect of Cl^- on organic compounds degradation is intensively studied in catalytic ozonation of different water matrix. It was found that the effect of Cl^- is almost completely reflected by transforming ·OH to reactive chlorine species (RCS), which is simultaneously competitive with organics degradation. The competition between organics and Cl^- for ·OH directly determines the ratio of their consumption rate of ·OH, which depends on their concentration and reactivity with ·OH. Especially, the concentration of organics and solution pH may change greatly during organics degradation process, which will correspondingly influence the transformation rate of ·OH to RCS. Therefore, the effect of Cl^- on organics degradation is not immutable, and may dynamically change. As the reaction product between Cl^- and ·OH, RCS was also expected to affect the degradation of organics. But we found that Cl· had no significant contribution to the degradation of organics in catalytic ozonation, which may due to its reaction with ozone. Catalytic ozonation of a series of benzoic acid (BA) with different substituents in chloride contained wastewater was also investigated, and the results showed that the electron-donating substituents can weaken the inhibition of Cl^- on BAs degradation, because they increase the reactivity of organics with ·OH, O₃ and RCS.

Photolysis of chlorite by solar light: An overlooked mitigation pathway for chlorite and micropollutants

Chlorite (ClO₂^-) is an undesirable toxic byproduct commonly produced in the chlorine dioxide and ultraviolet/chlorine dioxide oxidation processes. Various methods have been developed to remove ClO₂^- but require additional chemicals or energy input. In this study, an overlooked mitigation pathway of ClO₂^- by solar light photolysis with a bonus for simultaneous removal of micropollutant co-present was reported. ClO₂^- could be efficiently decomposed to chloride (Cl^-) and chlorate by simulated solar light (SSL) at water-relevant pHs with Cl^- yield up to 65% at neutral pH. Multiple reactive species including hydroxyl radical (•OH), ozone (O₃), chloride radical (Cl•), and chlorine oxide radical (ClO•) were generated in the SSL/ClO₂^- system with the steady-state concentrations following the order of O₃ (≈ 0.8 μΜ) > ClO• (≈ 4.4 × 10^-6 μΜ)> •OH (≈ 1.1 × 10^-7 μΜ)> Cl• (≈ 6.8 × 10^-8 μΜ) at neutral pH under investigated condition. Bezafibrate (BZF) as well as the selected six other micropollutants was efficiently degraded by the SSL/ClO₂^- system with pseudofirst-order rate constants ranging from 0.057 to 0.21 min^-1 at pH 7.0, while most of them were negligibly degraded by SSL or ClO₂^- treatment alone. Kinetic modeling of BZF degradation by SSL/ClO₂^- at pHs 6.0 - 8.0 suggested that •OH contributed the most, followed by Cl•, O₃, and ClO•. The presence of water background components (i.e., humic acid, bicarbonate, and chloride) exhibited negative effects on BZF degradation by the SSL/ClO₂^- system, mainly due to their competitive scavenging of reactive species therein. The mitigation of ClO₂^- and BZF under photolysis by natural solar light or in realistic waters was also confirmed. This study discovered an overlooked natural mitigation pathway for ClO₂^- and micropollutants, which has significant implications for understanding their fate in natural environments.

Mineralization, characteristics variation, and removal mechanism of algal extracellular organic matter during vacuum ultraviolet/ozone process

Extracellular organic matter (EOM) produced by algal blooms in source water is detrimental to drinking water treatment processes and supplied water quality. Ozonation has been used to treat algal EOM, but it could not mineralize EOM effectively. In this study, mineralization and characteristics variation of EOM by vacuum ultraviolet/ozone (VUV/O₃) and its sub-processes were comprehensively investigated. Results showed that EOM removal in different processes followed the order of VUV/O₃ > UV/O₃ > O₃ > VUV > UV. For VUV/O₃ process, removal efficiencies of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), UV₂₅₄, protein, and polysaccharide at 50 min were 75.6%, 80.8%, 80.1%, and 78.0%, respectively, and fluorescence components received very high removal rates (≥92.8%, at 10 min). The yield of trichloromethane dropped from 102.0 to 30.1 μg/L after treating for 50 min by VUV/O₃. Besides, effects of O₃ dosage, initial pH, and water matrices on EOM removal in VUV/O₃ process were investigated. Moreover, fluorescent molecular probe experiments confirmed that hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical were the main reactive oxygen species (ROS) in VUV/O₃ process, and the transformation of ROS was proposed. The mechanism of EOM removal by VUV/O₃ included VUV photolysis, direct O₃ oxidation, and ROS oxidation. Furthermore, the removal of EOM in filtered water by VUV/O₃ was satisfactory. All results indicated that VUV/O₃ process had great application potential in treating EOM-rich filtered water.

NDMA reduction mechanism of UDMH by O3/PMS technology

Carcinogenic N, N-Dimethylnitrosamine (NDMA) has been reported to generate significantly during ozonation of fuel additive unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), the combined ozone/Peroxy-Monosulfate (O₃/PMS) technology was tried for reducing its formation in this study. The influence of PMS dosages, ozone concentrations, pH, Br^- and humic acid (HA) on NDMA formation from UDMH were investigated. In addition, the reduction mechanisms were explored by intermediates identification and Gaussian calculation. The results demonstrated that O₃/PMS technology was effective on NDMA reduction, reaching an efficiency of 81% with 80 μM PMS. Higher NDMA reduction rates were achieved by O₃/PMS with increasing pH within the scope of research (from 5 to 9), achieving a maximum of 69.9% at pH 9. The presence of bromide ion facilitated NDMA generation during ozonation, but the reduction efficiency by O₃/PMS slightly improved from 66.3% to 70.6%. The presence of HA reduced NDMA formation in O₃/PMS system. The contribution of SO₄^•- on NDMA reduction accounted for ~64%, which was higher than that of •OH (41.4%); however, its promotion role on conversing UDMH to NDMA was lower than O₃. Therefore, the technology could reduce NDMA formation effectively. In addition, the results of Gaussian calculation manifested that the N atom in -NH₂ group of UDMH was easily attacked not only by •OH but also by O₃, so it is the key path that determines final NDMA formation. This study would provide reference for reducing NDMA formation during ozonation of UDMH-containing water matrixes.

Reactions of aliphatic amines with ozone: Kinetics and mechanisms

Aliphatic amines are common constituents in micropollutants and dissolved organic matter and present in elevated concentrations in wastewater-impacted source waters. Due to high reactivity, reactions of aliphatic amines with ozone are likely to occur during ozonation in water and wastewater treatment. We investigated the kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions of ozone with ethylamine, diethylamine, and triethylamine as model nitrogenous compounds. Species-specific second-order rate constants for the neutral parent amines ranged from 9.3 × 10⁴ to 2.2 × 10⁶ M^-1s^-1 and the apparent second-order rate constants at pH 7 for potential or identified transformation products were 6.8 × 10⁵ M^-1s^-1 for N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, ∼10⁵ M^-1s^-1 for N-ethylhydroxylamine, 1.9 × 10³ M^-1s^-1 for N-ethylethanimine oxide, and 3.4 M^-1s^-1 for nitroethane. Product analyses revealed that all amines were transformed to products containing a nitrogen-oxygen bond (e.g., triethylamine N-oxide and nitroethane) with high yields, i.e., 64-100% with regard to the abated target amines. These findings could be confirmed by measurements of singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical which are formed during the amine-ozone reactions. Based on the high yields of nitroethane from ethylamine and diethylamine, a significant formation of nitroalkanes can be expected during ozonation of waters containing high levels of dissolved organic nitrogen, as expected in wastewaters or wastewater-impaired source waters. This may pose adverse effects on the aquatic environment and human health.

Elucidating the Elementary Reaction Pathways and Kinetics of Hydroxyl Radical-Induced Acetone Degradation in Aqueous Phase Advanced Oxidation Processes

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals are promising methods to destroy aqueous organic contaminants. Hydroxyl radicals react rapidly and nonselectively with organic contaminants and degrade them into intermediates and transformation byproducts. Past studies have indicated that peroxyl radical reactions are responsible for the formation of many intermediate radicals and transformation byproducts. However, complex peroxyl radical reactions that produce identical transformation products make it difficult to experimentally study the elementary reaction pathways and kinetics. In this study, we used ab initio quantum mechanical calculations to identify the thermodynamically preferable elementary reaction pathways of hydroxyl radical-induced acetone degradation by calculating the free energies of the reaction and predicting the corresponding reaction rate constants by calculating the free energies of activation. In addition, we solved the ordinary differential equations for each species participating in the elementary reactions to predict the concentration profiles for acetone and its transformation byproducts in an aqueous phase UV/hydrogen peroxide AOP. Our ab initio quantum mechanical calculations found an insignificant contribution of Russell reaction mechanisms of peroxyl radicals, but significant involvement of HO₂^• in the peroxyl radical reactions. The predicted concentration profiles were compared with experiments in the literature, validating our elementary reaction-based kinetic model.

Mechanistic Insight into the Reactivity of Chlorine-Derived Radicals in the Aqueous-Phase UV-Chlorine Advanced Oxidation Process: Quantum Mechanical Calculations

The combined ultraviolet (UV) and free chlorine (UV-chlorine) advanced oxidation process that produces highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (HO^•) and chlorine radicals (Cl^•) is an attractive alternative to UV alone or chlorination for disinfection because of the destruction of a wide variety of organic compounds. However, concerns about the potential formation of chlorinated transformation products require an understanding of the radical-induced elementary reaction mechanisms and their reaction-rate constants. While many studies have revealed the reactivity of oxygenated radicals, the reaction mechanisms of chlorine-derived radicals have not been elucidated due to the data scarcity and discrepancies among experimental observations. We found a linear free-energy relationship quantum mechanically calculated free energies of reaction and the literature-reported experimentally measured reaction rate constants, k_exp, for 22 chlorine-derived inorganic radical reactions in the UV-chlorine process. This relationship highlights the discrepancy among literature-reported rate constants and aids in the determination of the rate constant using quantum mechanical calculations. We also found linear correlations between the theoretically calculated free energies of activation and k_exp for 31 reactions of Cl^• with organic compounds. The correlation suggests that H-abstraction and Cl-adduct formation are the major reaction mechanisms. This is the first comprehensive study on chlorine-derived radical reactions, and it provides mechanistic insight into the reaction mechanisms for the development of an elementary reaction-based kinetic model.

Sulfate radical oxidation of aromatic contaminants: a detailed assessment of density functional theory and high-level quantum chemical methods

Advanced oxidation processes that utilize highly oxidative radicals are widely used in water reuse treatment. In recent years, the application of sulfate radical (SO₄˙^-) as a promising oxidant for water treatment has gained increasing attention. To understand the efficiency of SO₄˙^- in the degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater effluent, it is important to be able to predict the reaction kinetics of various SO₄˙^--driven oxidation reactions. In this study, we utilize density functional theory (DFT) and high-level wavefunction-based methods (including computationally-intensive coupled cluster methods), to explore the activation energies of SO₄˙^--driven oxidation reactions on a series of benzene-derived contaminants. These high-level calculations encompass a wide set of reactions including 110 forward/reverse reactions and 5 different computational methods in total. Based on the high-level coupled-cluster quantum calculations, we find that the popular M06-2X DFT functional is significantly more accurate for OH^- additions than for SO₄˙^- reactions. Most importantly, we highlight some of the limitations and deficiencies of other computational methods, and we recommend the use of high-level quantum calculations to spot-check environmental chemistry reactions that may lie outside the training set of the M06-2X functional, particularly for water oxidation reactions that involve SO₄˙^- and other inorganic species.

Ozonation of pyridine and other N-heterocyclic aromatic compounds: Kinetics, stoichiometry, identification of products and elucidation of pathways

Pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine and pyrazine were investigated in their reaction with ozone. These compounds are archetypes for heterocyclic aromatic amines, a structural unit that is often present in pharmaceuticals, pesticides and dyestuffs (e.g., enoxacin, pyrazineamide or pyrimethamine). The investigated target compounds react with ozone with rate constants ranging from 0.37 to 57 M(-1) s(-1), hampering their degradation during ozonation. In OH radical scavenged systems the reaction of ozone with pyridine and pyridazine is characterized by high transformation (per ozone consumed) of 55 and 54%, respectively. In non scavenged system the transformation drops to 52 and 12%, respectively. However, in the reaction of pyrimidine and pyrazine with ozone this is reversed. Here, in an OH radical scavenged system the compound transformation is much lower (2.1 and 14%, respectively) than in non scavenged one (22 and 25%, respectively). This is confirmed by corresponding high N-oxide formation in the ozonation of pyridine and pyridazine, but probably low formation in the reaction of pyrimidine and pyrazine with ozone. With respect to reaction mechanisms, it is suggested that ozone adduct formation at nitrogen is the primary step in the ozonation of pyridine and pyridazine. On the contrary, ozone adduct formation to the aromatic ring seems to occur especially in the ozonation of pyrimidine as inferred from hydrogen peroxide yield. However, also OH radical reactions are supposed processes in the case of pyrimidine and in particular for pyrazine, albeit negligible OH radical yields are obtained. The low compound transformation in OH radical scavenged system can prove this. As a result of negligible OH radical yields in all cases (less than 6%) electron transfer as primary reaction pathway plays a subordinate role.

Ozonation of anilines: Kinetics, stoichiometry, product identification and elucidation of pathways

Anilines as archetypes for aromatic amines, which play an important role in the production of, e.g., dyestuffs, plastics, pesticides or pharmaceuticals were investigated in their reaction with ozone. Due to their high reactivity towards ozone (1.2 × 10(5)-2.4 × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1)) the investigated aniline bearing different substituents are readily degraded in ozonation. However, around 4 to 5 molecules of ozone are needed to yield a successful transformation of aniline, most likely due to a chain reaction that decomposes ozone without compound degradation. This is inferred from OH radical scavenging experiments, in which compound transformation per ozone consumed is increased. Mechanistic considerations based on product formation indicate that addition to the aromatic ring is the preferential reaction in the case of aniline, p-chloroaniline and p-nitroaniline (high amounts of o-hydroxyaniline, p-hydroxyaniline, chloride, nitrite and nitrate, respectively were found). For aniline an addition to the nitrogen happens but to a small extent, since nitroso- and nitrobenzene were observed as well. In the case of N-methylaniline and N,N-dimethylaniline, an electron transfer reaction from nitrogen to ozone was proven due to the formation of formaldehyde. In contrast, for p-methylaniline and p-methoxyaniline the formation of formaldehyde may result from an electron transfer reaction at the aromatic ring. Additional oxidation pathways for all of the anilines under study are reactions of hydroxyl radicals formed in the electron transfer of ozone with the anilines (OH radical yields = 34-59%). These reactions may form aminyl radicals which in the case of aniline can terminate in bimolecular reactions with other compounds such as the determined o-hydroxyaniline by yielding the detected 2-amino-5-anilino-benzochinon-anil.

Ozonation of piperidine, piperazine and morpholine: Kinetics, stoichiometry, product formation and mechanistic considerations

Piperidine, piperazine and morpholine as archetypes for secondary heterocyclic amines, a structural unit that is often present in pharmaceuticals (e.g., ritalin, cetirizine, timolol, ciprofloxacin) were investigated in their reaction with ozone. In principle the investigated compounds can be degraded with ozone in a reasonable time, based on their high reaction rate constants with respect to ozone (1.9 × 10(4)-2.4 × 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)). However, transformation is insufficient (13-16%), most likely due to a chain reaction, which decomposes ozone. This conclusion is based on OH scavenging experiments, leading to increased compound transformation (18-27%). The investigated target compounds are similar in their kinetic and stoichiometric characteristics. However, the mechanistic considerations based on product formation indicate various reaction pathways. Piperidine reacts with ozone via a nonradical addition reaction to N-hydroxypiperidine (yield: 92% with and 94% without scavenging, with respect to compound transformation). However, piperazine degradation with ozone does not lead to N-hydroxypiperazine. In the morpholine/ozone reaction, N-hydroxymorpholine was identified. Additional oxidation pathways in all cases involved the formation of OH with high yields. One important pathway of piperazine and morpholine by ozonation could be the formation of C-centered radicals after ozone or OH radical attack. Subsequently, O2 addition forms unstable peroxyl radicals, which in one pathway loose superoxide radicals by generating a carbon-centered cation. Subsequent hydrolysis of the carbon-centered cation leads to formaldehyde, whereby ozonation of the N-hydroxy products can proceed in the same way and in addition give rise to hydroxylamine. A second pathway of the short-lived peroxyl radicals could be a dimerization to form short-lived tetraoxides, which cleave by forming hydrogen peroxide. All three products have been found.

Photochemical oxidation of chloride ion by ozone in acid aqueous solution

The experimental investigation of chloride ion oxidation under the action of ozone and ultraviolet radiation with wavelength 254 nm in the bulk of acid aqueous solution at pH 0-2 has been performed. Processes of chloride oxidation in these conditions are the same as the chemical reactions in the system O3 - OH - Cl(-)(aq). Despite its importance in the environment and for ozone-based water treatment, this reaction system has not been previously investigated in the bulk solution. The end products are chlorate ion ClO3(-) and molecular chlorine Cl2. The ions of trivalent iron have been shown to be catalysts of Cl(-) oxidation. The dependencies of the products formation rates on the concentrations of O3 and H(+) have been studied. The chemical mechanism of Cl(-) oxidation and Cl2 emission and ClO3(-) formation has been proposed. According to the mechanism, the dominant primary process of chloride oxidation represents the complex interaction with hydroxyl radical OH with the formation of Cl2(-) anion-radical intermediate. OH radical is generated on ozone photolysis in aqueous solution. The key subsequent processes are the reactions Cl2(-) + O3 → ClO + O2 + Cl(-) and ClO + H2O2 → HOCl + HO2. Until the present time, they have not been taken into consideration on mechanistic description and modelling of Cl(-) oxidation. The final products are formed via the reactions 2ClO → Cl2O2, Cl2O2 + H2O → 2H(+) + Cl(-) + ClO3(-) and HOCl + H(+) + Cl(-) ⇄ H2O + Cl2. Some portion of chloride is oxidized directly by O3 molecule with the formation of molecular chlorine in the end.

A New Reaction Pathway for Bromite to Bromate in the Ozonation of Bromide

Ozone is often used in the treatment of drinking water. This may cause problems if the water to be treated contains bromide as its reaction with ozone leads to the formation of bromate, which is considered to be carcinogenic. Bromate formation is a multistep process resulting from the reaction of ozone with bromite. Although this process seemed to be established, it has been shown that ozone reacts with bromite not by the previously assumed mechanism via O transfer but via electron transfer. Besides bromate, the electron-transfer reaction also yields O3(•-), the precursor of OH radicals. The experiments were set up in such a way that OH radicals are not produced from ozone self-decomposition but solely by the electron-transfer reaction. This study shows that hydroxyl radicals are indeed generated by using tBuOH as the OH radical scavenger and measuring its product, formaldehyde. HOBr and bromate yields were measured in systems with and without tBuOH. As OH radicals contribute to bromate formation, higher bromate and HOBr yields were observed in the absence of tBuOH than in its presence, where all OH radicals are scavenged. On the basis of the results presented here, a pathway from bromide to bromate, revised in the last step, was suggested.

Production of sulfate radical and hydroxyl radical by reaction of ozone with peroxymonosulfate: a novel advanced oxidation process

In this work, simultaneous generation of hydroxyl radical (•OH) and sulfate radical (SO4•−) by the reaction of ozone (O3) with peroxymonosulfate (PMS; HSO5−) has been proposed and experimentally verified. We demonstrate that the reaction between the anion of PMS (i.e.,SO52−) and O3 is primarily responsible for driving O3 consumption with a measured second order rate constant of (2.12 ± 0.03) × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). The formation of both •OH and SO4•− from the reaction between SO52− and O3 is confirmed by chemical probes (i.e., nitrobenzene for •OH and atrazine forb oth •OH and SO4•−). The yields of •OH and SO4•− are determined to be 0.43 ± 0.1 and 0.45 ± 0.1 per mol of O3 consumption, respectively. An adduct,−O3SOO− + O3 → −O3SO5−, is assumed as the first step, which further decomposes into SO5•− and O3•−. The subsequent reaction of SO5•− with O3is proposed to generate SO4•−, while O3•− converts to •OH. A definition of R(ct,•OH) and R(ct,SO4•−) (i.e., respective ratios of •OH and SO4•− exposures to O3 exposure) is adopted to quantify relative contributions of •OH and SO4•−. Increasing pH leads to increases in both values of R(ct,•OH) and R(ct,SO4•−) but does not significantly affect the ratio of R(ct,SO4•−) to R(ct,•OH) (i.e., R(ct,SO4•−)/R(ct,•OH)), which represents the relative formation of SO4•− to •OH. The presence of bicarbonate appreciably inhibits the degradation of probes and fairly decreases the relative contribution of •OH for their degradation, which may be attributed to the conversion of both •OH and SO4•− to the more selective carbonate radical (CO3•−).Humic acid promotes O3 consumption to generate •OH and thus leads to an increase in the R(ct,•OH) value in the O3/PMS process,w hile humic acid has negligible influence on the R(ct,SO4•−) value. This discrepancy is reasonably explained by the negligible effect of humic acid on SO4•− formation and a lower rate constant for the reaction of humic acid with SO4•− than with •OH. In addition, the efficacy of the O3/PMS process in real water is also confirmed.

Self-enhanced ozonation of benzoic acid at acidic pHs

Ozonation of recalcitrant contaminants under acidic conditions is inefficient due to the lack of initiator (e.g., OH(-)) for ozone to produce hydroxyl radicals (HO). In this study, we reported that benzoic acid (BA), which is inert to ozone attack, underwent efficient degradation by ozone at acidic pH (2.3). The kinetics of BA degradation and ozone decomposition were both enhanced by increasing BA concentrations. Essentially, it is a HO-mediated reaction. Based on the exclusion of possible contributions of H2O2 and phenol-like intermediates for HO production, the reaction mechanism involved the formation of ozone ion ( [Formula: see text] ), which is an effective precursor of HO, was thus proposed. The hydroxycyclohexadienyl-type radicals generated during the attack of BA by HO may lead to the formation of [Formula: see text] . Meanwhile, [Formula: see text] could also be possibly formed from the reaction between ozone and organic (e.g., ROO∙) or inorganic peroxyl radicals (e.g., HO2). In addition, the hydroxylated products like phenol-like intermediates also played a positive role in HO production. Consequently, HO was produced efficiently under acidic conditions, resulting in rapid degradation of BA. This study provides a new approach for ozone activation even at acidic pHs, and broadens the knowledge of ozonation in removal of micropollutants from water.

Role of the propagation reactions on the hydroxyl radical formation in ozonation and peroxone (ozone/hydrogen peroxide) processes

To better predict the elimination of highly ozone-refractory organic micro-pollutants from wastewater in ozonation and peroxone (O₃/H₂O₂) processes, it is important to understand the OH• formation therein. Nevertheless, the contribution of the propagation reactions (in brief, OH• + DOM (Dissolved Organic Matter) + O₂ → O₂•⁻, O₃ + O₂•⁻ → O₃•⁻ → OH•) to the OH• yields (Ф) in these two processes has not received great attention so far. In this study, >25% of O₃ was estimated to be consumed via the propagation reactions in ozonation of wastewater effluents. The competition method (taking the OH• exposure and scavenging capacity of water matrix into account) was recommended to determine the Ф values, and thus the relatively higher values (i.e., 33–58% vs. 6–24%) in ozonation were obtained as compared with the "tert-Butanol (tBuOH) assay" (with excess tBuOH to scavenge OH• producing stoichiometric formaldehyde), where the contribution of the propagation reactions was otherwise neglected when excess tBuOH completely scavenged OH. In peroxone of wastewater effluents, the rate constant of O₃ consumption increased significantly with the increase of H₂O₂ concentration ([H₂O₂]:[O₃] = 0.1–0.35). However, compared to ozonation alone, the improvement of the Ф values was negligible over a wide range of [H₂O₂]:[O₃] = 0.1–2.0. This discrepancy was mainly ascribed to the fact that substantial O₃ consumption via the propagation reactions resulted in comparable Ф values in peroxone vs. ozonation processes.