Kinetics and products of reactions of MTBE with ozone and ozone/hydrogen peroxide in water.

Methyl-t-butyl-ether (MTBE) has become a prevalent groundwater pollutant due to its high volume use as a nationwide gasoline additive. Given its physicochemical properties, it requires new treatment approaches. Both aqueous O(3) and a combination of O(3)/H(2)O(2), which gives *OH, can remove MTBE from water, making use of O(3) a viable technology for remediation of groundwater from fuel contaminated sites. Rate constants and temperature dependencies for reactions of MTBE with O(3) or with *OH at pH 7.2, in a range of 21-45 degrees C (294-318K) were measured. The second-order rate constant for reaction of MTBE with O(3) is 1.4 x 10(18)exp(-95.4/RT) (M(-1)s(-1)), and for reaction of MTBE with *OH produced by the combination of O(3)/H(2)O(2) is 8.0 x 10(9)exp(-4.6/RT) (M(-1)s(-1)), with the activation energy (kJ mol(-1)) in both cases. At 25 degrees C, this corresponds to a rate constant of 27 M(-1)s(-1) for ozone alone, and 1.2 x 10(9) M(-1)s(-1) for O(3)/H(2)O(2). The concentration of *OH was determined using benzene trapping. Products of reactions of O(3) and O(3)/H(2)O(2) with MTBE, including t-butyl-formate (TBF), t-butyl alcohol (TBA), methyl acetate, and acetone, were determined after oxidant depletion. A reaction pathway for mineralization of MTBE was also explored. Under continuously stirred flow reactor (CSTR) conditions, addition of H(2)O(2) markedly increases the rate and degree of degradation of MTBE by O(3).