The role of pH in the decomposition of organic micropollutants during the heterogeneous photocatalysis process

The study investigated that the change in the pH ranged from 5 to 7 affects the adsorption degree of selected organic micropollutants such as: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene), pharmaceutical compounds (diclofenac) and industrial additives (octylphenol and pentachlorophenol) on the photocatalyst surface (100 mg TiO₂/dm³). For example, in suspension of pH 5 a 12% reduction in the concentration of octylphenol was noted, while in the suspension of pH 7 the concentration of this compound was reduced by 64%. In the case of anthracene an inverse relationship was observed. The concentration of this micropollutant decreased by 94% for pH 5 and only by 61% for pH 7 suspension. With the commencement of UV irradiation of reaction mixtures a gradual increase in the concentration of micropollutants reduction in aqueous solutions was observed. This indicates the decomposition of compounds as a result of their reaction with highly reactive OH^• radicals or other reactive oxygen species generated during the process. For reaction mixtures of pH 7, already in the first 15 minutes, higher degrees of removal of micropollutants ware observed compared to suspension of pH 6. The obtained micropollutants removal degrees exceeded 91% for diclofenac, octylphenol, pentachlorophenol and amounted to 100% for anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene.