Photocatalytic Degradation of Acesulfame Potassium Using TiO2/UVA, S2O82-/Fe2+/UVA, and H2O2/Fe2+/UVA Processes

Abstract

Acesulfame potassium (ACE) is a ubiquitous artificial sweetener that has recently been shown to be toxic to the environment and damaging to DNA in both mice and humans. Photocatalytic degradation of ACE using TiO2/UVA, S2O82-/Fe2+/UVA, and H2O2/Fe2+/UVA processes show promising results with complete degradation and 57-80% mineralization of ACE and their resulting products have been shown to be non-toxic to the environment. The reaction kinetics of these two processes are examined.