Binding Effects on Humic-Mediated Photoreaction:  Intrahumic Dechlorination of Mirex in Water

Abstract

A kinetic model was developed describing the effects of hydrophobic partitioning to humics on second-order humic-mediated photoreactions in aqueous solution. Model development and evaluation were in terms of the humic-mediated dechlorination of the hydrophobic chlorocarbon, mirex. Mirex dechlorination in irradiated (λ ≥ 290 nm) Aldrich humic acid (HA) solution was examined as a function of humic acid and scavenger concentration. Kinetic models in which HA solution is described as a homogeneous or single-phase solution were not able to describe the effects of HA and scavenger concentrations on mirex dechlorination rates. However, these effects were successfully described by including partitioning in the models to characterize the bound phase and dissolved phase mirex reactions separately. The resulting model uses homogeneous phase kinetics to describe reaction in the dissolved phase. Bound phase reaction is described as occurring within individual HA molecules with the distribution of scavengers within HA molecules following a Poisson distribution. Used to assess the relative reactivities of the bound and dissolved phases, the model indicated that the reaction of mirex in HA solution is confined to the humic phase. The general predic tions and utility of the model are evaluated both in terms of experimental data and pollutant photodegradation.