A groundwater is contaminated with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) at a concentration of 20 mg/L.the groundwater will be treated with an advanced oxidation process that involves formation of hdyroxyl free radical (OH*). MTBE reacts to form TBA as a reaction intermediate compound.TBA continues to react to produce other tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) in an in series reaction ,as shown below:
MTBE + OH* -> TBA (1)
TBA + OH* -> other products (2)
first reaction is first order with respect to MTBE and the 2. reac. is 1. order respect to TBA.both reactions are 1.order with respect to OH*.k1=1.6*10^9L/mole-sec,k2=6*10^8L/mole-sec.note that free radical concentrations remains constant as a function of time in these oxidation systems.MTBE is oxidized by 99% within 5 minutes in a batch reactor.
a)estimate the concentration of TBA after 10 minutes of oxidation in this batch reactor.
b)assuming the ground initally contains 15mg/L of TBAtogether with 20 mg/L of MTBE.estimate the concentration of TBA after 10 minutes of oxidation in this batch reactor?