Degradation and detoxification mechanisms of organophosphorus flame retardant tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) during electrochemical oxidation process

Abstract

Electrochemical oxidation of aqueous tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) by using Ti/SnO2-Sb/La-PbO2 as anode was investigated for the first time, and the degradation mechanisms and toxicity changes of the degradation intermediates were further determined. Results suggested that electrochemical degradation of TDCPP followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the reaction rate constant (k) was 0.0332 min−1 at the applied current density of 10 mA/cm2 and Na2SO4 concentration of 10 mmol/L. There was better TDCPP degradation performance at higher current density. Free hydroxy radical (•OH) was proved to play dominant role in TDCPP oxidation via quenching experiment, with a relative contribution rate of 60.1%. A total of five intermediates (M1, C6H11Cl4O4P; M2, C3H7Cl2O4P; M3, C9H16Cl5O5P; M4, C9H14Cl5O6P; M5, C6H10Cl3O6P) were identified, and the intermediates were further degraded prolonging with the reaction time. Flow cytometer results suggested that the toxicity of TDCPP and degradation intermediates significantly reduced, and the detoxification efficiency was achieved at 78.1% at 180 min. ECOSAR predictive model was used to assess the relative toxicity of TDCPP and the degradation intermediates. The EC50 to green algae was 3.59 mg/L for TDCPP, and the values raised to 84, 574, 54.6, 391, and 8920 mg/L for M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5, respectively, indicating that the degradation intermediates are less toxic or not toxic. Electrochemical advanced oxidation process is a valid technology to degrade TDCPP and pose a good detoxification effect.