In this study, aqueous solutions of gallic acid (GA) were irradiated in an electron beam (EB) accelerator under different experimental conditions (various initial GA concentrations, presence or absence of oxidant and oxygen). For an initial GA concentration of 50 μM, complete GA degradation was achieved with an absorbed dose of 850 Gy in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Both GA removal and mineralization are favored when oxygen is present. The addition of persulfate anions (S2O82-) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) also increased the efficiency of GA degradation and mineralization. For an absorbed dose of 14 kGy, GA mineralization reached approximately 45%, 55%, and 72% for the EB, EB/H2O2, and EB/S2O82-systems, respectively. Three transformation products were tentatively identified in the presence of oxygen, these are the result of hydroxylation and ring opening reactions. No specific transformation product was found for the sulfate radical anion (SO4-●) reaction. Four additional compounds, including a dimer, were identified in oxygen-free solutions. These findings demonstrate that water radiolysis based on EB irradiation is an efficient process to activate H2O2 and S2O82- anions and is an advanced oxidation process (AOP).
Keywords: Electron beam; Gallic acid; Hydroxybenzoic acid; Oxygen; Persulfate anions; Transformation products; Water radiolysis.