Removal of humic acid using TiO2 photocatalytic process – Fractionation and molecular weight characterisation studies

The photocatalytic removal of humic acid (HA) using TiO2 under UVA irradiation was examined by monitoring changes in the UV254 absorbance, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, apparent molecular weight distribution, and trihalomethane formation potentials (THMFPs) over treatment time. A resin fractionation technique in which the samples were fractionated into four components: very hydrophobic acids (VHA), slightly hydrophobic acids, hydrophilic charged (CHA) and hydrophilic neutral (NEU) was also employed to elucidate the changes in the chemical nature of the HA components during treatment. The UVA/TiO2 process was found to be effective in removing more than 80% DOC and 90% UV254 absorbance. The THMFPs of samples were decreased to below 20 μg l−1 after treatments, which demonstrate the potential to meet increasingly stringent regulatory level of trihalomethanes in water. Resin fractionation analysis showed that the VHA fraction was decreased considerably as a result of photocatalytic treatments, forming CHA intermediates which were further degraded with increased irradiation time. The NEU fraction, which comprised of non-UV-absorbing low molecular weight compounds, was found to be the most persistent component.