Experimental and model comparisons of low- and medium-pressure Hg lamps for the direct and H2O2 assisted UV photodegradation of N-nitrosodimethylamine in simulated drinking water.

Both low- and medium-pressure Hg lamps (LP and MP, respectively) were used as ultraviolet light (UV) sources to destroy N-nitrosodimethylamine in a synthetic "natural" water. The lamp performances were directly compared via the UV fluence-based rate constants, which demonstrates that LP and MP have virtually identical photonic efficiencies (fluence-based rate constants of 2.29E-3 and 2.35E-3 cm2/mJ, respectively). This indicates that the quantum yield for NDMA photolysis is independent of wavelength in the UVC region: a value of 0.30 mol/einstein is found at pH 8.1. Addition of 100 mg/L of H2O2 leads to a 30% increase in the LP fluence-based rate constant but does not alter the MP rate constant, likely due to the tradeoff between light screening by H2O2 and additional radical based degradation. However, in terms of the time-based rate constant, this level of H2O2 slightly enhances the LP performance but hinders the MP performance, suggesting that H2O2 is of little or no economic benefit for NDMA removal by UV. All these effects are explained by modeling the photochemistry according to standard equations. The model predicts that H2O2 may enhance NDMA removal for short optical path lengths but that light-screening by H2O2 may decrease the removal rates for optical path lengths typical of those found in UV reactors.