PPCP degradation by ammonia/chlorine: Efficiency, radical species, and byproducts formation

Abstract

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are frequently detected in water bodies and have potential risks to human health and the ecosystem. The degradation of eight structurally diverse PPCPs by ammonia/chlorine was systematically investigated in this study. Compared with chlorination, ammonia/chlorine markedly enhanced PPCP degradation, and the degradation efficiencies of most PPCPs were greater than 70%. Tert-butanol strongly suppressed PPCP degradation, while bicarbonate suppressed it moderately, suggesting the importance of ClO⋅and ⋅CO3− in PPCP degradation. In neutral conditions, PPCP degradation was mainly attributed to ⋅OH, with its contribution ranging from 74% to 100% at a Cl2/N molar ratio of 1.6. Regarding the effect of natural organic matter, atrazine and primidone were inhibited the most, while carbamazepine (CBZ), metoprolol (MTP), and atenolol (ATN) were affected the least. PPCP degradation was suppressed in reclaimed water; the degradation of CBZ, MTP, and ATN was suppressed the least, with degradation efficiencies of 77.1%–85.4%, 75.1%–77.1%, and 64.6%–68.8%, respectively. Furthermore, compared with chlorination, fewer volatile halogenated byproducts were formed in reclaimed water when using the ammonia/chlorine process, and the concentration of each byproduct formed by ammonia/chlorine was less than 10 µg/L. This study suggests the feasibility of using ammonia/chlorine oxidation to degrade PPCPs in reclaimed water.