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The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crumb tire rubber were firstly degraded under UV irradiation in the presence of rutile TiO2 and hydrogen peroxide. The effects of light intensity, catalyst amount, oxidant amount, initial pH value, co-solvent content, and reaction time on degradation efficiency of typical PAHs in crumb tire rubber were studied. The results indicated that UV irradiation, rutile TiO2, and hydrogen peroxide were beneficial to the degradation of PAHs and co-solvent could accelerate the desorption of PAHs from crumb tire rubber. Up to 90% degradation efficiency of total 16 PAHs could be obtained in the presence of rutile TiO2 (1 wt%) and hydrogen peroxide (1.0 mL) under 1800 μW cm-2 UV irradiation for 48 h. The high molecular weight PAHs (such as benz(a)pyrene) were more difficult to be degraded than low molecular weight PAHs (such as phenanthrene, chrysene). Moreover, through the characterization of reaction solution and degradation products via GC-MS, it was proved that the PAHs in crumb tire rubber were successfully degraded.Supplementary material

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crumb tyre rubber were firstly degraded under UV irradiation in the presence of rutile TiO2 and hydrogen peroxide. The effects of light intensity, catalyst amount, oxidant amount, initial pH value, co-solvent content, and reaction time on degradation efficiency of typical PAHs in crumb tyre rubber were studied. The results indicated that UV irradiation, rutile TiO2, and hydrogen peroxide were beneficial to the degradation of PAHs and co-solvent could accelerate the desorption of PAHs from crumb tyre rubber. Up to 90% degradation efficiency of total 16 PAHs could be obtained in the presence of rutile TiO2 (1 wt%) and hydrogen peroxide (1.0 mL) under 1800 µW cm−2 UV irradiation for 48 h. The high molecular weight PAHs (such as benz(a)pyrene) were more difficult to be degraded than low molecular weight PAHs (such as phenanthrene, chrysene). Moreover, through the characterization of reaction solution and degradation products via GC–MS, it was proved that the PAHs in crumb tyre rubber were successfully degraded.