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Sunlight-driven environmental photodegradation of 2-chlorobiphenyl (PCB-1) in surface waters: kinetic study and mathematical simulations

  • Occurrence, Impact and Elimination of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in Soil, Water and Air Streams: Advances and Challenges in Ibero-American Countries
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Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of highly toxic, resistant, and persistent organic pollutants, among which 2-chlorobiphenyl (PCB-1) is one of the simplest. Most studies on PCBs’ photochemistry are limited to their direct photolysis, while the important role of reactive photo-induced species (RPS) (hydroxyl radicals, HO●; singlet oxygen, 1O2; and triplet excited states of chromophoric dissolved organic matter, 3CDOM*) in removing PCBs in natural waters through indirect photolysis has not yet been evaluated. In this work, the rate constants of the reactions between aqueous PCB-1 and RPS were obtained under simulated solar radiation (450-W Xenon lamp and an AM 1.5 global filter) by competition kinetics, and the effects of the initial pollutant concentration and the physicochemical characteristics of the water were investigated. The direct photolysis quantum yield of PCB-1 in the range 290–800 nm was found as 1.60 × 10−2 mol Einstein−1. The value of kPCB-1,HO● = (6.80 ± 0.09) × 109 L mol−1 s−1 is in good agreement with the literature. For 1O2, kPCB-1,1O2 = (1.13 ± 0.20) × 106 L mol−1 s−1, while for 3CDOM*, kPCB-1,3CBBP* = (2.44 ± 0.04) × 109 L mol−1 s−1 and kPCB-1,3AQ2S* = (3.36 ± 0.04) × 109 L mol−1 s−1 were obtained using 4-benzoylbenzoic acid (CBBP) and anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQ2S) as CDOM proxies, respectively. These results show that the main pathways involved in PCB-1 photodegradation are the reactions with HO● and 3CDOM* together with direct photolysis. In addition, the photodegradation of PCB-1 in sunlit waters was simulated using the kinetic model APEX (Aqueous Photochemistry of Environmentally Occurring Xenobiotics). According to simulations, a greater influence of the water depth and dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC) on the persistence of PCB-1 is expected, being only slightly influenced by the concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, and bicarbonate. Finally, based on data reported for Brazilian surface waters, the average half-life (t1/2) of PCB-1 is expected to vary from 2 to 14 days. In particular, the t1/2 in the Paranapanema River is estimated at 7 to 8 days.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by CAPES. Finance Code 001 and post-doc grant #88887.340964/2019-00. The authors are grateful to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – Brazil (CNPq, grant #311230/2020-2) and to the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (grant #2019/24158-9). The authors thank Prof. Marcela Prado Silva Parizi and undergraduate students Gabriela de Souza Freitas and Ana Caroline Fernandes Borges (São Paulo State University, Campus Rosana) for carrying out the analysis of natural water samples from the Paranapanema River.

Funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and post-doc grant #88887.340964/2019–00.

National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)—grant #311230/2020–2.

São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)—grant #2019/24158–9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group in Advanced Oxidation Processes (AdOx), Chemical Systems Engineering Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, tr. 3, 380, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Arlen Mabel Lastre-Acosta, Carolina Mendes Rocha & Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira

  2. Dempster MS Lab, Chemical Systems Engineering Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, tr. 3, 380, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Maria Anita Mendes & Claudio Augusto Oller do Nascimento

Authors
  1. Arlen Mabel Lastre-Acosta
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  2. Carolina Mendes Rocha
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  3. Maria Anita Mendes
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  4. Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira
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  5. Claudio Augusto Oller do Nascimento
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Contributions

AMLA: conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing (original draft), visualization.

CMR: methodology, validation, investigation.

MAM: methodology, investigation, writing (review and editing), supervision.

ACSCT: conceptualization, validation, writing (original draft), writing (review and editing), supervision, funding acquisition.

CAON: resources, supervision, funding acquisition, writing—review and editing.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arlen Mabel Lastre-Acosta.

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Lastre-Acosta, A.M., Rocha, C.M., Mendes, M.A. et al. Sunlight-driven environmental photodegradation of 2-chlorobiphenyl (PCB-1) in surface waters: kinetic study and mathematical simulations. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 42231–42241 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17010-7

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