RESUMO
A novel process involving 254 nm UV-C and fructose to degrade pentachlorophenol (PCP), a pollutant, in low and high salinity (0-10 g/L salt) solutions is presented. The first order rate constants in the presence of 0, 300, and 500 mM fructose were 0.23 ± 0.04, 0.54 ± 0.01, and 1.18 ± 0.03 min(-1), respectively. Experimental evidence has shown generation of hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen from the UV-C exposure of fructose, which may have accelerated PCP degradation. Although salts (sodium, potassium, and calcium chloride, 1101:6.4:1) are expected to enhance the degradation rate due to generation of reactive halide species (RHS) from exposure to UV-C light, 10 g/L salt decreased the degradation rates in both the absence and presence of fructose. An LC-ESI-MS spectrum of the reaction mixture revealed a high relative abundance at m/z of 215 that corresponds to a fructose-chlorine adduct, indicating that fructose may have scavenged these RHS and prevented their reaction with PCP.