Preliminary study on photoproduction of hydroxyl radicals in aqueous solution with Aldrich humic acid, algae and Fe(III) under high‐pressure mercury lamp irradiation

Under a high‐pressure mercury lamp (HPML) and using an exposure time of 4 h, the photoproduction of hydroxyl radicals (*OH) could be induced in an aqueous solution containing humic acid (HA). Hydroxyl radicals were determined by high performance liquid chromatography using benzene as a probe. The results showed that *OH photoproduction increased from 1.80 to 2.74 μM by increasing the HA concentration from 10 to 40 mg L−1 at an exposure time of 4 h (pH 6.5). Hydroxyl radical photoproduction in aqueous solutions of HA containing algae was greater than that in the aqueous solutions of HA without algae. The photoproduction of *OH in the HA solution with Fe(III) was greater than that of the solution without Fe(III) at pH ranging from 4.0 to 8.0. The photoproduction of *OH in HA solution with algae with or without Fe(III) under a 250 W HPML was greater than that under a 125 W HPML. The photoproduction of *OH in irradiated samples was influenced by the pH. The results showed that HPML exposure for 4 h in the 4‐8 pH range led to the highest *OH photoproduction at pH 4.0.