Photochemical decomposition of perfluorinated chemicals in water using electrolyzed sulfuric acid

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24651085
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental technology/Environmental materials
• Research Institution: Kanagawa University
• Principal Investigator: Hori Hisao 神奈川大学, 理学部, 教授 (50357951)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 分解 / フッ素 / 電解硫酸 / 無機化 / 光反応 / ペルオキソ二硫酸 / 有機フッ素化合物 / 界面活性剤

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Electrolyzed sulfuric acid is a new chemical agent manufactured by the electrolysis of aqueous sulfuric acid. In the present work, the oxidizing species (S2O82-, HSO5-, and H2O2) involved in the electrolyzed sulfuric acid was quantified, and photochemical decomposition of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), pentafluoropropionic acid (PFPA), and hexafluorobutyric acid (HFBA)in water induced by the electrolyzed sulfuric acid was investigated. Among oxidizing species involved in the electrolyzed sulfuric acid, S2O82- plays a dominant role for the photochemical reactions, and S2O82- present under highly acidic conditions (pH 1.0), owing to the coexistence of H2SO4, is the main reason for the high reactivity. PFPA and HFBA were also efficiently decomposed by use of the electrolyzed sulfuric acid. The pseudo-first-order rate constants for the decreasing amounts of these substrates were 1.6-1.9 times as high as those for the conventional reactions using potassium salt of S2O82-.

Free Research Field

環境化学