Photocatalytic decomposition of methyl tert-butyl ether in aqueous slurry of titanium dioxide

The photocatalytic degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was investigated in the aqueous slurry of titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles irradiated with xenon lamp in a batch reactor. The reaction was found to follow a pseudo-first-order kinetics and the reaction rate increased by raising the TiO2 loading and the UV light intensity. The reaction rate constant was proportional to the square root of the UV intensity. An upper plateau level was observed for the reaction rate constant, corresponding to a steady photoproduction of hydroxyl radicals at high catalyst concentrations. The experimental data was analyzed using a modified Turchi-Ollis model to account for changes in the catalyst loading. It was found that this model predicted the observed trend in the pseudo-first-order rate constant if the reaction pathway involves the interaction between adsorbed hydroxyl radicals and solvated molecules.