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Direct and indirect photodegradation of bisphenol A in the presence of natural water components

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Abstract

The impacts and mechanisms of natural water constituents, such as humic acid (HA), nitrates, iron and chloride ions, to the photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA) were investigated in aqueous media under UV light irradiation. Due to the contributions of ·OH, 1O2, O2− and BPA* to BPA photodegradation in pure water in 13.4, 7.7, 22.9 and 47.9%, respectively, BPA was attenuated through the reaction pathway of direct photodegradation more than self-sensitized photodegradation. About indirect photodegradation, BPA photolysis through inhibitory effect from HA was mainly by light screening effect and quenching effect was insignificant. NO- 3 and NO- 2 both showed inhibitory effect but due to different reactive oxidization species (ROS). The photodegradation of BPA was significantly enhanced by the addition of iron from the formation of ·OH and H2O2, due to iron-assisted indirect photolysis for the degradation process. A dual effect of chloride depending on the different concentration levels involved quenching and promotion effect on reactive photo-induced species (RPS). A simple linear model revealed that BPA photodegradation was significantly impacted by the interaction of the above factors. In natural water, the decreased photolytic rate of BPA was mainly attributed to triple-excited dissolved organic matter (3DOM*), indicating that indirect photolysis was the primary transformation pathway of BPA. The detected photolysis products, such as nitrate and chlorinated products, suggest that there might be potential ecological risk of BPA photodegradation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (21966030).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Chemistry Laboratory, College of Chemical Engineering, Xinjiang Agriculture University, Urumqi, 830052, People’s Republic of China

    Yao Han, Lu Jin, Rong Zhou, Yayu Li & Weiwen Jing

  2. Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, 110034, Liaoning Province, China

    Lijun Li

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  1. Yao Han
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  2. Lijun Li
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  3. Lu Jin
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  4. Rong Zhou
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  5. Yayu Li
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Contributions

Yao Han performed the main experiment, data analysis and writing—original draft. Lijun Li finished GC-MS detection and spectrum analysis and revealed the degradation pathway. Lu Jin and Rong Zhou performed part of the experiments and explained the data. Yayu Li revised the original draft. Weiwen Jing conceptualized and supervised the study.

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Correspondence to Weiwen Jing.

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Han, Y., Li, L., Jin, L. et al. Direct and indirect photodegradation of bisphenol A in the presence of natural water components. Environ Geochem Health 46, 18 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01780-9

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