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Enantioselective Degradation of Metalaxyl in Anaerobic Activated Sewage Sludge

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Abstract

Enantioselective degradation occurs frequently for chiral pesticides in field matrices and under laboratory conditions. Metalaxyl is a chiral compound and important fungicide. In this study, the degradation of Rac- and R-metalaxyl under anaerobic conditions was studied. The degradation processes were found to follow first-order kinetics. The degradation of the S-enantiomer (T 1/2 = 2.10 days) was much faster than the R-enantiomer (T 1/2 = 8.44 days). The half-life of the Rac-metalaxyl mixture was 4.05 days, which was higher than the S-enantiomer, but lower than the R-enantiomer. These results confirm the need for emphasizing the importance of examining the fate of the stereoisomers in an environmental system.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in Chinese Universities (No. IRT 0653) and the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (No. Z506070).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Urban Development and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Second Polytechnic University, Shanghai, 201209, China

    Shengwen Chen

  2. Research Center of Environmental Science, College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China

    Weiping Liu

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  1. Shengwen Chen
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Correspondence to Weiping Liu.

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Chen, S., Liu, W. Enantioselective Degradation of Metalaxyl in Anaerobic Activated Sewage Sludge. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 82, 327–331 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-008-9559-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-008-9559-6

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