REMOVAL OF BENZENE AND SELECTED ALKYL-SUBSTITUTED BENZENES FROM AQUEOUS-SOLUTION UTILIZING CONTINUOUS HIGH-ENERGY ELECTRON-IRRADIATION

Continuous high-energy electron irradiation was employed in the removal of mixtures of benzene, toluene, m-xylene, and omicron-xylene from potable water and secondary wastewater effluent in the presence of an extremely efficient radical scavenger (3.3 mM methanol). In the potable water, > 99% removal of all aromatic solutes was achieved at 787 krad (7.87 kGy, [OH.] almost-equal-to 2.2 x 10(-3)M) with influent concentrations of each of the solutes approximately 1-mu-M, whereas in the secondary wastewater, solute removal was 91-96% for similar initial concentrations. At an initial solute concentration of approximately 20-mu-M, for each of the four aromatic solutes, the removal increased in absolute concentration but the percent removal in both waters decreased. Reaction byproducts identified were phenols and various carbonyl compounds. The carbonyl compounds include glyoxal and other as yet unidentified aldehydes. The product distribution is consistent with hydroxyl radical (OH.) addition and continued oxidation of intermediate byproducts.