Inhibitory effect of natural organic matter or other background constituents on photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes: Mechanistic model development and validation

• Mechanistic model of photocatalytic degradation in presence of inhibitory organics.
• ROS scavenging and competitive adsorption by NOM are critical inhibition mechanisms.
• Model was validated with 1O2 and OH–producing photocatalysts.
• Model enables process design and mechanistic understanding of inhibition processes.

The ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to interact with priority pollutants is crucial for efficient water treatment by photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). However, background compounds in water such as natural organic matter (NOM) can significantly hinder targeted reactions and removal efficiency. This inhibition can be complex, interfering with degradation in solution and at the photocatalyst surface as well as hindering illumination efficiency and ROS production. We developed an analytical model to account for various inhibition mechanisms in catalytic AOPs, including competitive adsorption of inhibitors, scavenging of produced ROS at the surface and in solution, and the inner filtering of the excitation illumination, which combine to decrease ROS-mediated degradation. This model was validated with batch experiments using a variety of ROS producing systems (OH-generating TiO2 photocatalyst and H2O2-UV; 1O2-generating photosensitive functionalized fullerenes and rose bengal) and inhibitory compounds (NOM, tert-butyl alcohol). Competitive adsorption by NOM and ROS scavenging were the most influential inhibitory mechanisms. Overall, this model enables accurate simulation of photocatalytic AOP performance when one or more inhibitory mechanisms are at work in a wide variety of application scenarios, and underscores the need to consider the effects of background constituents on degradation efficiency.

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