Issue 9, 2018

Degradation of 1H-benzotriazole by UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2: kinetics, mechanisms, products and toxicology

Abstract

Benzotriazoles are emerging contaminants widespread in environmental waters. As they are robust against conventional biological wastewater treatment, it is desirable to develop cost-effective and safe treatment methods for benzotriazole removal. The current study attempted to investigate the degradation of water dissolved 1H-benzotriazole (1H-BTA) with UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2. Pseudo-first order degradation kinetics were observed in low power 280 nm UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2 systems (UV intensity = 0.023 mW cm−2, kapp reached 1.63 × 10−3 s−1 and 1.87 × 10−3 s−1, respectively), and radical oxidation was the dominant reaction mechanism with k˙OH-BTA at (7.1 ± 0.8) × 109 M−1 s−1 and (6.9 ± 0.7) × 109 M−1 s−1. Both systems were affected by the pH value, natural organic matter and anions, leading to incomplete mineralization in actual water treatment processes. As the reaction proceeded, 1H-BTA was progressively transformed into eight organic products. The number of preliminary hydroxylated products (e.g. C6H5N3O) increased rapidly at the early stage, while the further open-loop products (e.g. C4H3N3O4) were dominant at the later stage. Based on the proteomics analysis, the significant activation of ribosome, transporter and tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolisms in Escherichia coli, which exposed to the later degradation product mixture, suggested that the toxicity of 1H-BTA decreased. In conclusion, incomplete mineralization using hydroxyl radical oxidation likewise has potential for thedetoxification of 1H-BTA.

Graphical abstract: Degradation of 1H-benzotriazole by UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2: kinetics, mechanisms, products and toxicology

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 2 2018
Accepted
21 4 2018
First published
01 5 2018

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2018,4, 1282-1294

Degradation of 1H-benzotriazole by UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2: kinetics, mechanisms, products and toxicology

Y. Chen, J. Ye, C. Li, P. Zhou, J. Liu and H. Ou, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2018, 4, 1282 DOI: 10.1039/C8EW00116B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements