The k
inetics of the activated carbon ozonation of mixtures of three polyphenol compounds (gallic acid, tyrosol,and syr
ingic acid)
in water has been studied from the application of a double mechanism of reactions toexperimental data. These mechanisms
involve direct ozone reactions with start
ing polyphenols and hydroxylfree radical reactions with
intermediates and end reaction products, ma
inly saturated carboxylic acids (theconcentration be
ing represented with the chemical oxygen demand, COD). The direct ozone reaction mechanismdevelops dur
ing the
initial period (15-60 m
in) where polyphenols are removed. The k
inetic regime of theprocess was fast of pseudo first order, and at 25
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C and pH 5 the direct rate constants of the reactions betweenozone and gallic acid, syr
ingic acid, and tyrosol were determ
ined from different k
inetic methods. Oncepolyphenols disappear and saturated carboxylic acids (end reaction products) are present, the removal ofthese compounds goes through hydroxyl free radical oxidation. This second mechanism
involves the reactionof ozone and the organic matter, through hydrogen peroxide formation, both
in bulk water and on the carbonsurface, as the
initiat
ing step of hydroxyl radical formation. In the absence of activated carbon, the activationenergy of the bulk water ozone-organic matter reaction was found to be 36.3 ± 4.5 kcal·mol
-1. In thepresence of activated carbon, at the conditions here applied
in addition to bulk water chemical reaction, theprocess depends on mass-transfer resistances, and the values of the volumetric liquid-side and
individualliquid-solid external mass-transfer coefficients were found to be 0.71 ± 0.05 m
in-1 and 1.19 ± 0.10 × 10
-3m·m
in-1, respectively.