PHOTOSENSITIZED DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN WATER - PROCESSES AND ANALYTICAL APPLICATIONS

Photosensitized degradation has been used to remove a broad range of o rganic pollutants, generally with mineralization to CO2 and other inor ganic products such as Cl- and NO3-TiO2 and Fe3+ are the photosensitiz ers mainly used to accelerate the degradation of persistent organic ch emicals. Various analytical techniques were used to identify the degra dation products and to monitor the degradation kinetics. Chromatograph ic techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), g as chromatography (GC) and ion-exchange were used. Other analytical te chniques, such as total organic carbon analysis, UV-visible spectropho tometry, spectrofluorimetry, and potentiometry, were also used. When t he photodegradation is carried out in water, extraction methods such l iquid-liquid extraction or solid-phase extraction need to be used, fol lowed by GC or HPLC analysis. We review the analytical methods used fo r the identification of the products formed in photodegradation studie s. Kinetic studies of the degradation are also reported. (C) 1998 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.