Interactions of hypochlorite ion and humic acid: photolytic and photocatalytic pathways.

Photolytic and photocatalytic interactions of hypochlorite ion and humic acid are investigated under various conditions. Humic acid oxidation by aqueous chlorine under dark conditions are expressed in terms of first order reaction kinetics. Upon irradiation (300 nm < lambda < 400 nm), photolysis of aqueous chlorine affect the removal efficiency of humic acid via oxidation. TiO2 sensitised photocatalytic oxidation conditions reveal an increase in the TOC removal rate of humic acid in the presence of aqueous chlorine. Under the specified conditions, increasing the photocatalyst loading up to 1.0 mg/mL markedly increase the TOC removal rate.