Photodegradation behavior and mechanism of dibutyl phthalate in water under flood discharge atomization

Li Lin; Sheng Zhang; Lei Dong; Yueqi Cao; Wei Zhang; Xiong Pan; Yi Li; Chi Zhang; Jingxiang Tao; Di Jia; John Crittenden

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161822

Photodegradation behavior and mechanism of dibutyl phthalate in water under flood discharge atomization

Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 1:871:161822. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161822. Epub 2023 Jan 25.

Authors

Li Lin¹, Sheng Zhang², Lei Dong², Yueqi Cao², Wei Zhang², Xiong Pan², Yi Li³, Chi Zhang⁴, Jingxiang Tao², Di Jia², John Crittenden⁵

Affiliations

¹ Basin Water Environmental Research Department, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei 430010, PR China; Key Lab of Basin Water Resource and Eco-Environmental Science in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430010, PR China. Electronic address: linli@mail.crsri.cn.
² Basin Water Environmental Research Department, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei 430010, PR China; Key Lab of Basin Water Resource and Eco-Environmental Science in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430010, PR China.
³ Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development of Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiansu 210098, PR China.
⁴ College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiansu, 210098, PR China.
⁵ Brook Byers Institute of Sustainable Systems, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, United States.

PMID: 36708834
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161822

Abstract

Flood discharge atomization is a prevalent hydraulics phenomenon in reservoir scheduling operations, however, its effect on the migration and transformation behavior of pollutants has not been examined. In this study, the behaviors and mechanisms of the direct photodegradation of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in atomized water and the indirect photodegradation of DBP in the presence of ferric ions and nitrate were investigated. The results showed that the photodegradation rate of DBP was accelerated under atomization conditions by sunlight irradiation. The photodegradation efficiency of DBP in the presence of ferric ions and nitrate under atomization conditions was increased by 2.20 times and 1.82 times compared with no-atomization conditions, respectively. The quencher experiments indicated that the main active species for DBP photodegradation in the presence of ferric ions were hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and superoxide radicals (·O₂^-) with atomization, while the main active species in the presence of nitrate were ·OH, ·O₂^- and electrons (e^-). In addition, the differences were found in the photodegradation products and pathways of DBP between with and without atomization treatment. In the presence of ferric ions, the benzene ring of DBP was opened to produce fumaric acid, while phthalic acid bis(4-hydroxybutyl) ester was produced in the presence of nitrate under atomization conditions. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for assessing the effect of water conservancy projects on the migration and transformation behaviors of pollutants, which is of great theoretical significance and scientific value.

Keywords: Dibutyl phthalate; Flood discharging atomization; Photodegradation.