The photochemical fate of PPCPs in the aqueous environments is an emerging concern for environmental scientists and engineers. The effluent from wastewater treatment plants is the major point source for PPCPs and its releases with EfOM together. In the current study, photodegradation of twenty-three PPCPs were examined in the effluents under solar simulated irradiation. Radical scavenger, nitrogen saturated, isotopic effects experiments have been employed to elucidate the degradation mechanisms. Direct photodegradation, 3EfOM* and hydroxyl radical are three major involved removal processes. With photodegradation of trace levels of PPCPs, UV-vis and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy of the effluents, also gradually reduced. Therefore, both water parameters have been identified as appropriate surrogates to assess the photodegradation rates of PPCPs. Tyosine-like EEM peak is associated with OH radical dominated PPPCs, such as trimethoprim, caffeine, ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, triclocarban, atenolol; UV, tryptophan-like peak and UV-humic-like peak are three parameters associated with 3EfOM* dominated PPCPs, including sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin, roxithromycin, meetoprolol, propranolol, carbamazepine, naproxen, ractopamine; Visible humic-like peak is associated with direct photodegradation dominated PPCPs, including metronidazole, ornidazole, dimetrisazole, famotidine cimitidine. The decrease in the UV and EEM fluorescences correlate well with the removal of PPCPs. These results suggested that these water spectroscopies may be suitable surrogates for monitoring the photodegradation of PPCPs in effluents.

Development of surrogates to predict photochemical fate of PPCs in effluents

247th National Meeting (2014)

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