Comparative study of alachlor removal from water by UV

photolysis and UV/persulfate process

Tajana Đurkić, Jelena Molnar Jazić, Jasmina Agbaba, Aleksandra Tubić,
Marijana Kragulj Isakovski
University of Novi Sad Faculty of Sciences, Department of Chemistry,
Biochemistry and Environmental Protection, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000
Novi Sad, R. Serbia (e-mail: tajana.djurkic@dh.uns.ac.rs)

Abstract: Advanced oxidation processes, including direct UV photolysis and

UV/persulfate, have been applied to investigate the degradation of alachlor in
surface water. The results showed that in the presence of persulfate, removal of
alachlor was higher than direct UV photolysis, which can be attributed to
photolytic decomposition of persulfate, whereby highly reactive sulfate radicals
(SO4•-) are generated.

Introduction

Alachlor was chosen as a model compound for the chloroacetanilide

herbicides identified as priority pollutants by the European Water Framework
Directive (2013/39/EU). The Environmental Protection Agency classified
alachlor as a B2 group carcinogen and it is known to be a highly toxic endocrine
disruptor [1]. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have attracted significant
scientific attention for removal of organic contaminants from aquatic
ecosystems. Today, the persulfate anion (S 2O82-) has been gaining popularity as
an alternative oxidant in the chemical oxidation of different organic pollutants
from contaminated water, due to certain advantages, such as relatively low cost,
high solubility in water, and easy storage and transport [2]. The main goal of
this work was to investigate the efficiency of alachlor degradation using UV
photolysis and a UV/persulfate process in surface water.

Experimental design

All experiments were performed in a commercial UV reactor with a

quartz vessel equipped with low pressure Hg lamp (Philips TUV 16 W,
emission at 253.7 nm). Surface water (Danube river) was spiked with an
aqueous alachlor solution in order to obtain an initial concentration of about 100
µg/L. GC/MS was used for the alachlor analysis.

Results and discussion

Fig. 1 compares the photodegradation of alachlor by UV alone and by

the UV/persulfate process, with reaction times from 10 to 420 s. As can be seen,
UV photolysis achieved alachlor degradations from 3 to 85%, indicating that
alachlor well absorbs UV radiation at a wavelength of 254nm. Somewhat faster
alachlor degradation was observed during the UV/persulfate process (with
0.029 mM S2O82-), as a consequence of the pollutant molecules being attacked
by SO4•- radicals formed during
S2O82- photolysis. In order to
examine the influence of the water
matrix, these results were
compared with our previous study
[3] carried out in a synthetic
matrix. In ultrapure water, nearly
complete degradation of alachlor
(97%) was achieved by the
UV/persulfate process after just
14 s of the treatment. Thus, in the
surface water matrix, a much
Figure 1. Degradation of alachlor in longer (about 30 times) reaction
surface water using direct UV photolysis time was required to achieve a
and UV/persulfate process similar level of removal. This is
because some of the chemical
species commonly present in surface waters can act as scavengers of the free
SO4•- radicals or absorb the UV radiation, reducing the efficiency of the
oxidative degradation of organic pollutants.

Conclusion

Advanced oxidation processes proved to be a promising technique for

alachlor degradation in surface water. The impact of other constituents in the
water matrix (natural organic matter, alkalinity) on efficiency the alachlor
degradation will be the focus of future investigation.
Acknowledgements. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic
of Serbia (Project No. III43005).

Literature

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Wei, X., J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. E. 63 (2016) 379-385.
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275.
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Agbaba, J., Dalmacija, B., Knjiga radova i apstrakata VI Memorijalni naučni
skup iz zaštite životne sredine „Docent dr Milena Dalmacija“, 29-30.mart
(2018) Novi Sad, pp. V-09.