Abstract
This research focused on photodegradation of Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in hexane, isopropanol, and methanol. The photodegradation rates and degradation pathways were investigated and compared among these three solvents. Photodegradation of HCB preceeded reductive dechlorination processes and followed a first-order reaction kinetic. The degradation rate constants of HCB in the three solvents were 0.55 min-1 in hexane, 0.48 min-1 in isopropanol, and 0.37 min-1 in methanol. Photodegradation rates of HCB and the dechlorinated products were affected by the solvent species. In all solvents, the major photodegradation pathways of HCB were as follows : HCB→P5CB→1245-T4CB · 1235-T4CB→124-T3CB · 135-T3CB→13-D2CB · 14-D2CB→MCB. The presented data showed that the solvent species affects the photodegradation rate of HCB, but not its dechlorination pathways.
