[Degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by O3/H2O2].

The degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in water solution has been studied using the combination of ozone/hydrogen peroxide in a bubble column. Effects of air (containing O3) currents, quantities of H2O2, initial concentrations of MTBE, pH values and temperatures on the oxidation of MTBE have been tested, and it is implicated that under the conditions of initial MTBE concentration of 10 mg x L(-1), air current of 0.5 L x min(-1), pH 6.5, 293 K and 2.4 mg x L(-1) H2O2 addition, MTBE can be reduced by 75.5% and the removal rate of COD reaches 68.0% within 30 min. The main of degradation products identified are tert-butyl formate (TBF), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), acetone (AC) and methyl acetate (MA). On the basis of that, the probable mechanism and pathway of the oxidation of MTBE by ozone/hydrogen peroxide have been proposed.