Identification of Degradation By-Products of Selected Pesticides during Oxidation and Chlorination Processes

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are considered to be one of the most effective methods for the decomposition of a wide range of hardly-biodegradable organic compounds, including pesticides. The implementation of such processes in the water streams treatment often leads to the formation of decomposition by-products of micropollutants occurring in water. These compounds, even in concentrations of a few ng/dm³, may negatively affect the water quality. Therefore, there is a need for detailed analyses that will allow to identify intermediates found in the AOP solutions and to assess their impact on the aquatic environment. The paper presents an attempt to identify by-products of three pesticides: triclosan, triallat and oxadiazon during ozonation, chlorination and UV irradiation of their water solutions. The identification of compounds was performed based on the results of the GC-MS analysis using the NIST v17 mass spectral library. It has been shown that during all of tested advanced oxidation processes, incomplete degradation of pesticides occurs. The number of micropollutant decomposition by-products increases with the increase of the applied ozone dose and UV exposure time. During the chlorination process Cl^- atoms were added to the tested compound molecules. In the case of triclosan, it led to the generation of compounds containing four or five chlorine atoms in their structure. The toxicological analysis performed by the use of the Microtox^® and Lemna sp. Growth Inhibition Test showed the toxic nature of post-process solutions. The decomposition by-products of triclosan and triallate, generated during the UV irradiation process, were highly toxic against the test organisms (toxic effect > 75 %). This makes it impossible to drain these solutions into the natural environment.