Simultaneous analysis of the photocatalytic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix fluorescence and parallel factor analysis Original Research Article

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be photochemically degraded. Monitoring of degradation process of PAHs is carried out by traditional methods, which normally imply time-consuming procedures that do not allow the chemical process to be analyzed in real time. In the present study, photodegradation kinetics of dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, benz[a]pyrene and benz[k]fluorantene were investigated in aqueous solutions under different conditions. A 23 factorial design was used for optimizing the degradation process.