[Effects of UV radiation on the aggregation performance of small molecular organic acids]

This study systematically investigated the effects of UV radiation on the aggregation of small molecular aliphatic carboxylic acids and phenolic acids by jar test. Experimental results show that solution pH has little effect on the coagulation of small molecular aliphatic carboxylic acids including citric acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid. For the solutions pretreated with UV light, the removal rates of the selected aliphatic carboxylic acids in coagulation are higher than that without UV radiation. Further study shows that photochemical reactions occur during UV radiation which decreases the negative charge in aliphatic carboxylic acids, and thereby increases their aggregation properties. Different from aliphatic carboxylic acids, phenol, salicylic acid, and benzoic acid have poor coagulation properties, and UV radiation does not have notable effects on their aggregation in the coagulation process. The coagulation performance of tannic acid is better than the other phenolic acids. At pH = 6, its removal rate is above 90%, which may be contributed to the aliphatic carboxylic acid structure in its molecular. Meanwhile, the large molecular of tannic acid is also easier to be adsorbed by the hydrolysis products of PAC1.