Tetrachloroethylene Degradation by Dithionite with Ultraviolet Activation

Abstract

Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) is a contaminant that has been frequently detected in ground water, surface water, air and soil. Advanced reduction processes (ARP) make up a set of wastewater treatment technologies that have been proposed recently. This project has conducted research on degrading PCE with an ARP that combines dithionite and ultraviolet activation. The purpose of the project is to provide knowledge for the development of potential wastewater treatment technologies.

Several control experiments (blank control, reagent control and UV control) were conducted to prove the feasibility of applying the dithionite/UV ARP to degrade PCE. ARP degradation of PCE was studied under different pH (5, 7, 8, 9) and light intensities (2, 4, 7.3 mW/cm2). The results showed that the fastest degradation was observed at pH 7 and that degradation becomes faster at higher light intensities. Combining dithionite and UV light resulted in a faster degradation of PCE than only using UV light to photolyze PCE.