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Efficient simultaneous degradation and dechlorination of chlorophenylacetonitrile by vacuum ultraviolet-sulfite advanced reduction system
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When water is treated with chlorine to kill germs, it can accidentally create harmful byproducts, including one called 2-CPAN that's found in both tap water and wastewater. Researchers found a new treatment method combining UV light with a sulfite chemical can break down over 98% of this contaminant in tap water and nearly 87% in wastewater within an hour, offering a promising way to make water treatment safer. While still an early-stage lab study, this suggests a practical path toward removing harmful chemical byproducts from the water we drink and use every day.
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) in chlor(am)inated drinking water and wastewater pose risks to human health and ecological safety. Studies on the degradation of the formed DBPs, especially aromatic DBPs, are quite limited. Recently, advanced reduction processes (ARPs), generating highly reactive reductive radicals to break the carbon-halogen bonds, as an emerging technology for refractory organic compound degradation has attracted attention. This study, for the first time, explored the degradation of a representative nitrogenous and aromatic DBP, 2-chlorophenylacetonitrile (2-CPAN), by VUV/UV/sulfite-based ARP system, and investigated the underlying mechanisms and influencing factors. The results demonstrated that VUV/UV/sulfite system achieved over 98.6 % and 86.8 % degradation of 2-CPAN from tap water and wastewater within 60 minutes although inorganic ions existing in real waters slightly inhibited its degradation, highlighting its potential for practical application in real waters. Due to VUV direct photolysis and the generation of more reactive species, VUV/UV/sulfite exhibited superior performance in 2-CPAN degradation (98 %) than UV/sulfite (81 %). Furthermore, VUV/UV/sulfite system maintained a stable degradation efficiency across a wide range of pH (5-11) and sulfite dosages (0.25-5.0 mM), and achieved 90 % degradation even under oxic conditions. Mechanism studies confirmed the presence of hydrated electrons (eaq-), hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen radicals in VUV/UV/sulfite system, with eaq- identified as the primary contributor to 2-CPAN degradation. Chlorine in 2-CPAN was primarily released as chloride ions, achieving 94 % dehalogenation within 15 minutes. The above findings revealed that VUV/UV/sulfite could be a promising technology for aromatic DBP degradation in real waters.
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Insight into the effect of UVC-based advanced oxidation processes on the interaction of typical microplastics and their derived disinfection byproducts during disinfection
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Scientists found that UV-based water treatment processes, while intended to clean drinking water, caused microplastics to release more organic matter and form more disinfection byproducts during chlorination. Up to 42% of the toxic byproducts formed were absorbed back onto the microplastic surfaces, creating contaminated particles. This concerning finding suggests that some common water treatment methods could unintentionally make microplastic contamination in drinking water more hazardous.
Effects of UV light on physicochemical changes in thermoplastic polyurethanes: Mechanism and disinfection byproduct formation
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Researchers examined how UV light exposure changes the properties of thermoplastic polyurethane microplastics in water and whether those changes affect the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts during water chlorination. They found that UV exposure broke the plastic into smaller fragments and released soluble chemicals that significantly increased byproduct formation after chlorination. The findings suggest that aging microplastics in water systems could contribute to the creation of potentially harmful chemicals during standard water treatment.
Unveiling the optical and molecular characteristics of aging microplastics derived dissolved organic matter transformed by UV/chlor(am)ine oxidation and its potential for disinfection byproducts formation
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Researchers studied how UV light and common water disinfection chemicals break down microplastics in water and found that different treatment methods produce different types of dissolved organic matter from the plastic. Some treatment combinations, particularly UV with chlorine, created byproducts that could form harmful disinfection byproducts when water is later chlorinated. This is important because it means water treatment processes might unintentionally create new toxic compounds from the microplastics already present in water.
UV Aging Enhances the Formation of Disinfection Byproducts from Tire Wear Particles upon Chlorination
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Tiny bits of tire rubber wash off roads into our water supply, and sunlight exposure makes them react differently when water is treated with chlorine — producing 1.5 to 2 times more byproducts, including a wider variety of chlorinated compounds that tend to be more harmful. This matters because tire particles are everywhere in the environment, and this research suggests that sun-damaged tire debris could make your tap or tap-sourced water contain more, and potentially more toxic, chemical byproducts than previously assumed.
Impact of chlorine and UV/H2O2 on microplastics in drinking water
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Using chlorine and UV/hydrogen peroxide at dosages realistic for actual drinking water treatment plants, this study assessed whether standard disinfection processes alter microplastics in tap water. The work addresses a critical public health question — whether the water treatment people rely on to make tap water safe actually removes or changes the microplastics that have been detected in treated drinking water.
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