One-step Oxidation of Total Organic Carbon, Total Nitrogen, and Total Phosphorous using Wet Chemical Oxidation

Abstract

Objective:This study proposed the simultaneous multi-oxidation of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous using modified wet chemical oxidation method.Methods:The multi oxidation process was based on the dual radical system with sulfate and hydroxyl radicals. The sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were activated at 40℃ and UV irradiation with 254 nm to generate the sulfate radical and hydroxyl radical. The organic matters were oxidized by the dual radicals, and TOC, TN, and TP values were compared with the control group.Results and Discussion:The dual radical system oxidized organic carbon to carbon dioxide effectively, and the TOC values were similar to the value obtained from the high-temperature combustion technique. However, the residual persulfate after oxidation process interfered the absorbance for TN and inhibit the complexation in TP measurement. The residual persulfate was effectively converted to sulfate by longer heating and UV irradiation, and the interferences were more sensitive to reaction temperature than UV irradiation time. As a result, a higher temperature condition was more effective and enhanced the applicability of multi-oxidation.Conclusions:The multi oxidation of TOC, TN, and TP was demonstrated by wet chemical oxidation, and the proposed method is expected to secure the sample and reduce the analytic time. However, the more suitable condition to enhance the accuracy of TOC, TN, and TP in the multi-oxidation system should be studied further.