Bromate Destruction by UV Irradiation and Electric Arc Discharge

Bromate ion destruction by UV irradiation using either a low pressure mercury lamp or a medium pressure mercury lamp has been evaluated. A low pressure lamp which emits radiation predominantly at < 200 nm was more effective than the UV lamp which emits radiation at 254 nm, since bromate ion has a peak absorbance of about 195 nm. Bromate ion was shown to be reduced to bromide ion with bromine as an intermediate. Bromate ion destruction using a low pressure mercury lamp (< 200 nm) ranged from 3 to 38% for doses ranging from 23 to 228 mW-s/cm²; 7-46% destruction was achieved using a medium pressure lamp with initial bromate ion concentrations of 11-38 μg/L and doses ranging from 60 to 550 mW-s/cm². A new innovative electric arc discharge method also has been evaluated and compared with UV irradiation. The electric arc discharge method destroyed 12-45% bromate ion for doses ranging from 130 to 1300 mW-s/cm².