Impact of the water composition on the degradation kinetics of natural organic matter in photocatalytic membrane reactors

Decomposition kinetics of natural organic substances during the photocatalytic process with a semi-conductor TiO₂ has been investigated. In the study, a laboratory reactor Heraeus and in a photocatalytic membrane reactor were used. Simulated solutions of deionized water, surface water and fulvic acids, differing in composition, were tested in the experiment. In order to determine reaction rate constants, the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model based on the first order reaction was applied. It was found that photocatalytic process enabled effective degradation of natural organic substances although its run was affected by inorganic ions, mainly those producing water hardness, present in water.