Direct determination of peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid in disinfectant solutions by far-ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy.

In this paper we propose a rapid and highly selective far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectroscopic method for the simultaneous determination of peracetic acid (PAA), hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid (AA). For this purpose we developed a novel FUV spectrometer that enables us to measure the spectra down to 180 nm. Direct determination of PAA, H(2)O(2), and AA, the three main species in disinfectant solutions, was carried out by using their absorption bands in the 180-220-nm region. The proposed method does not require any reagents or catalysts, a calibration standard, and a complicated procedure for the analysis. The only preparation procedure requested is a dilution of H(2)O(2) with pure water to a concentration range lower than 0.2 wt % in the sample solutions. Usually, the required concentration range can be obtained by the 10 times volume dilution of the actual disinfectant solutions. As the measured sample does not leave any impurity for the disinfection, it can be reused completely by using a circulation system. The detection limit for PAA of the new FUV spectrometer was evaluated to be 0.002 wt %, and the dynamic ranges of the measured concentrations were from 0 to 0.05 wt %, from 0 to 0.2 wt %, and from 0 to 0.2 wt % for PAA, H(2)O(2), and AA, respectively. The response time for the simultaneous determination of the three species is 30 s, and the analysis is applicable even to the flowing samples. This method may become a novel approach for the continuous monitoring of PAA in disinfectant solutions on the process of sterilization.