Performance of ultraviolet/persulfate process in degrading artificial sweetener acesulfame

Abstract The degradation of the artificial sweetener acesulfame (ACE) was investigated using an ultraviolet (UV)365-activated peroxydisulfate (PDS) process. The results demonstrated that the ACE reaction rate with the UV/PDS process followed pseudo first-order kinetics (R2 >0.9) under various conditions. A high dosage of PDS, alkaline condition, and the existence of NO3− and Cl− enhanced ACE degradation; however, a high dosage of ACE, the existence of HCO3−, humic acid, and fulvic acid, and a real water matrix did not facilitate the degradation of ACE. Four types of transformation products were detected in the degradation of ACE by UV/PDS, and the primary degradation pathways were oxidation, hydroxyl substitution, hydrolysis, and hydration. The hydroxyl radicals played a predominant role (71.31%) in the degradation of ACE by the UV/PDS process, followed by sulfate radicals (14.57%) and direct photolysis (14.12%). Both the degradation and mineralization rates of ACE using the UV/PDS process had significant advantages over that of the UV/H2O2 process regarding ACE degradation, indicating that the UV/PDS process is more promising for treating water containing ACE.