Micropollutant degradation by UV/H2O2 in drinking water: Facilitated prediction through combination of model simulation and portable measurement

Ultraviolet-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) are highly effective for micropollutant degradation. However, it is considerably time and labor consuming to evaluate the practical performance of UV-AOPs. This study developed a novel method, through combination of model simulation with portable measurement (MSPM), to facilitate prediction of the photon fluence-based rate constant of micropollutant degradation (k ' p,MP) by UV/H2O2, a commercially available UV-AOP. Model simulation was performed with photochemical, hydroxyl radical (HO center dot) concentration steady-state approximation, and quantitative structure-activity relationship models; and portable measurement was conducted on a mini-fluidic photoreaction system to quantify the HO center dot scavenging capacity (HRSC) of a water matrix. The method was established and further verified experimentally in seven test waters by taking sulfamethazine (SMN) as a model micropollutant. A lower k ' p,SMN was predicted in a water matrix with a higher HRSC, for example, 57.5 and 347.8 m2 einstein-1 in the raw water (HRSC = 5.91 x 105 s-1) and sand-filtered effluent (HRSC = 5.25 x 104 s-1) of a drinking water treatment plant at an H2O2 dose of 25 mg L-1, respectively. The predicted values agreed generally well with the experimental ones. The MS-PM method has advantages of high efficiency and convenience, low cost, and acceptable accuracy, which will significantly facilitate the design and field assessment of UV-AOPs for micropollutant removal from drinking water.