Advanced oxidation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by UV/TiO₂ and H₂O₂-UV/TiO₂ processes Available to Purchase

This study investigated photocatalysis of MTBE via both UV/TiO₂ and H₂O₂-UV/TiO₂ processes. Several experimental parameters including pH level, H₂O₂ concentration, TiO₂ dosage and light intensity were investigated. The experimental results demonstrated the degradation of MTBE following a pseudo first-order reaction in both reaction systems. Faster degradation rates were observed in alkaline solution for the UV/TiO₂ system, but for the H₂O₂-UV/TiO₂ system, faster degradation rates were detected in acidic solution. More dosage of TiO₂ and irradiated light intensity were beneficial for the photocatalysis of MTBE. However, a peak reaction rate was observed at a TiO₂ concentration of about 500 mg/L. The experimental results also indicated that the degradation rate of MTBE was enhanced by the addition of H₂O₂. H₂O₂ could be a more efficient electron acceptor than oxygen for retarding recombination of electron–hole pairs. The degradation rate in the H₂O₂-UV/TiO₂ system was about 2.8 times faster than that in the UV/TiO₂ system for solution pH below 5, and the rate increased 30% for solution pH above 6. In addition, it is observed that the reaction rate of MTBE increased quickly with H₂O₂ concentration at low H₂O₂ dosages, but the rate was independent of H₂O₂ dosage when adding too much H₂O₂.