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ATTENUATION OF METHYL TERT-BUTYL ETHER IN WATER USING SUNLIGHT AND A PHOTOCATALYST: JOURNAL ARTICLE
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NRMRL-CIN-1535 Sahle-Demessie*, E., Enriquez*, J., and Gupta, G. Attenuation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether in Water using Sunlight and a Photocatalyst. Water Environment Research (Virginia: Water Environment Federation) 74 (2):122-130 (2002). EPA/600/J-02/236. 07/19/2001 The use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a gasoline additive has resulted in increasing pollution of ground water. Most of the conventional treatment technologies are inefficient or costly when the initial concentration of MTBE is low (<200 ug/L). In order to find an eco-friendly and cheap method for MTBE remediation we used solar radiation with titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a photocatalyst. For synthetic samples almost complete degradation (99+%) of MTBE was observed at the end of 5 hr test run with 0.05 g/L of slurry TiO2. The intermediate products detected were tertiary butyl formate (TBF) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA), and trace amounts of acetone. Studies conducted using contaminated groundwater samples with TiO2 and sunlight showed that aromatic organic species BTEXs, (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) were degraded up to a factor fo 10 times faster than MTBE. However, dissolved metals (Fe2+) and chloride ions in contaminated waters decreased the photoactivity of TiO2 for the degradation of MTBE. Reducing the pH of the groundwater samples increased the MTBE degradation rate by three fold. Photocatalysis accelerates the solar degradation of MTBE and reduces its half-life by more than three orders of magnitude. The study indicated that solar degradation is a low cost and effective alternatives to attenuate MTBE in drinking water supplies.