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Photochemical degradation of β-hexachlorocyclohexane in snow and ice

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Abstract

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), a typical organochloride pesticide, is one of the persistent organic pollutants. Despite the ban on technical grade HCH, it has been continuously observed at a steady level in the environment. The photochemical degradation of β-HCH in snow and ice under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was investigated in this study. The effects of pH as well as common chemical components in snow on the degradation kinetics were investigated. In addition, the photodegradation products were determined and the reaction mechanism was hypothesized. The results showed that under UV irradiation, β-HCH can be photolyzed in snow and ice, with the photochemical degradation process conforming to the first-order kinetic equation. Changing the pH and adding Fe2+ had minimal effect on the photochemical degradation kinetics, while the presence of acetone, NO2-, NO3- and Fe3+ significantly inhibited the process. The addition of hydrogen peroxide slightly inhibited the photochemical degradation of β-HCH. Finally, the reaction rate, products and degradation mechanism of β-HCH in snow were compared with those in the ice phase. The photochemical degradation rate of β-HCH in snow was approximately 24 times faster than that in the ice phase. The photolysis product of β-HCH in snow was α-HCH, produced by the isomerization of β-HCH. However, in ice, in addition to α-HCH, pentachlorocyclohexene was produced by dechlorination. The results of this study are helpful in understanding the transformation of organochlorine pesticides in snow and ice, as well as in providing a theoretical basis for snow and ice pollution prevention and control.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41977314, 41073063 and 41403101) and China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Songliao Aquatic Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, P.R. China

    Honghai Xue & Xiaojian Tang

  2. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P.R. China

    Honghai Xue, Shuiyuan He & Chunli Kang

  3. China Construction Industrial & Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China

    Hanfei Liu

  4. Hydrological Bureau (Information Center), Songliao Water Resources Commission, Changchun, 130021, P.R. China

    Fei Peng

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  1. Honghai Xue
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  2. Shuiyuan He
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  3. Chunli Kang
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  4. Hanfei Liu
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  5. Fei Peng
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  6. Xiaojian Tang
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Contributions

Honghai Xue: Writing—original draft. Shuiyuan He: Investigation. Chunli Kang: Writing—review and editing. Hanfei Liu: Data analysis. Fei Peng: Conceptualization. Xiaojian Tang: Methodology.

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Correspondence to Chunli Kang.

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Xue, H., He, S., Kang, C. et al. Photochemical degradation of β-hexachlorocyclohexane in snow and ice. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 68244–68250 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15341-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15341-z

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