US EPA

1554757 

Journal Article 

Performance of UV/S2O82- process in degrading polyvinyl alcohol in aqueous solutions 

Lin, CC; Lee, LiT; Hsu, LJ 

2013 

Yes 

Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry
ISSN: 1010-6030
EISSN: 1873-2666 

252 

1-7 

10.1016/j.jphotochem.2012.10.017 

WOS:000314480800001 

This study evaluates the performance of UV/S2O82- process in
degrading polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in aqueous solutions. The effects of pH, Na2S2O8 dose, initial
PVA concentration, and addition of inorganic anions on the degradation efficiency of PVA were
determined. The degradation efficiency of PVA followed the order pH 3 > pH 7 > pH 11.
Additionally, higher Na2S2O8 dose and lower initial PVA concentration were associated with high
degradation efficiency of PVA. Moreover, adding Cl- and NO3- reduced the degradation efficiency
of PVA. Radical scavenging tests adopted to identify predominant radicals reveal that SO4 center
dot- was the predominant radical at pH 3, but OH center dot was the predominant radical at pH 11.
At pH 3, an Na2S2O8 dose of 1.00 mM, an initial PVA concentration of 20 mg/L, and a temperature
of 25 degrees C, the degradation efficiency of PVA in the absence of inorganic anions was 97%
with the observed degradation rate coefficient of 0.3785 min(-1), as measured after 10 min.
Comparison with heat/S2O82- process reveals that UV/S2O82- process can enhance the degradation of
PVA at ambient temperature, suggesting that UV/S2O82- process would be alternative to degrade PVA
in aqueous solutions. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 

Degradation; Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA); UV; Persulfate