The hydroxyl radical scavenging effect of textile preparation auxiliaries on the photochemical treatment of nonylphenol ethoxylate.

The present paper deals with the effects of frequently used textile preparation chemicals and common ions on the H2O2/UV-C treatment of a commercially important and slowly biodegradable nonionic surfactant, namely a nonylphenol bearing 10 ethoxylated chains. For this purpose, the effect of soda ash carbonate (0-5.0 g L(-1)), two phosphonic acid-based organic sequestering agents (0-2.5 g L(-1)) and chloride (0-3.0 g L(-1)) at two different pH values (3.5 and 10.5) as hydroxyl radical scavengers was experimentally investigated. Among the studied textile preparation chemicals and hydroxyl radical scavengers, the decreasing order of hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity was established as diethylene triamine pentamethylene phosphonic acid > 1-hydroxy ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid > soda ash carbonate at pH 10.5 > chloride at pH 3.5 > chloride at pH 10.5.