The photodegradation of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol in water containing iron and dissolved organic matter

Huan He; Yanting Lin; Xiaoxia Yang; Xintong Zhu; Wenxiao Xie; Chaochao Lai; Shanshan Yang; Zhe Zhang; Bin Huang; Xuejun Pan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152516

The photodegradation of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol in water containing iron and dissolved organic matter

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Mar 25:814:152516. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152516. Epub 2021 Dec 27.

Authors

Huan He¹, Yanting Lin¹, Xiaoxia Yang¹, Xintong Zhu¹, Wenxiao Xie¹, Chaochao Lai¹, Shanshan Yang², Zhe Zhang³, Bin Huang⁴, Xuejun Pan⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
² School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
³ Environmental Engineering and Science Program, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
⁴ Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China; Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Sequestration and Pollution Control in Soils, Kunming 650500, China. Electronic address: huangbin@kust.edu.cn.
⁵ Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China; Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Sequestration and Pollution Control in Soils, Kunming 650500, China. Electronic address: xjpan@kust.edu.cn.

PMID: 34968604
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152516

Abstract

17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in natural waters can seriously harm ecosystems and human health. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) and iron minerals are ubiquitous in natural waters, and they can shorten the half-life of EE2 in the natural environment. The interaction between dissolved organics and iron affects pollutants' transformation pathways. The mechanism of EE2's adsorption on hematite, magnetite and pyrite was studied. A photo-Fenton system was constructed in which humic acid (HA) and iron minerals degraded EE2 under simulated natural light conditions. Pyrite showed the best adsorption and degradation in acidic conditions (52%) for 5 h. Hydroxyl radical was found to be the main active substance in the photodegradation. The degradation products of EE2 were identified and possible degradation pathways were inferred. These results can contribute to the understanding of the transformation pathways of persistent organic pollutants in natural waters.

Keywords: EE2; Humic acid; Iron minerals; Photo-Fenton; Transformation pathways.

MeSH terms

Dissolved Organic Matter*
Ecosystem
Humans
Humic Substances
Iron
Photolysis
Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Dissolved Organic Matter
Humic Substances
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water
Iron