Abstract
Photocatalytic destruction of the water-soluble crude oil fraction, WSF, was conducted using TiO 2/UV–VIS. Infrared studies were carried out to investigate the transformations of crude oil compounds during the photolytic and heterogeneous photocatalytic processes. Although no mineralization occurred due to photolysis, important chemical changes were verified. However, when in the presence of TiO 2, degradation reached 90% (measured as dissolved organic carbon, DOC) in waters containing 9–45 mg C l −1 of seawater-soluble crude oil compounds after 7 days of artificial light exposure. Inorganic peroxides were photo-generated in a concentration of up to 8.0 μmol l −1 upon illumination, but total destruction of these peroxides occurred during heterogeneous photocatalysis. Toxicity studies before and after irradiation of the WSF using the Vibrio fischeri (Microtox ®) were performed. During light exposure of the WSF, transient intermediates which showed higher toxicity than the initial compounds were observed, but were subsequently destroyed. Heterogeneous photocatalysis using TiO 2 was shown to be a promising process to minimize the impact of crude oil compounds on contaminated waters.
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