Advanced oxidation of a commercially important nonionic surfactant: Investigation of degradation products and toxicity

Akin Karci*, Idil Arslan-Alaton, Miray Bekbolet

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

49 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The evolution of degradation products and changes in acute toxicity during advanced oxidation of the nonionic surfactant nonylphenol decaethoxylate (NP-10) with the H2O2/UV-C and photo-Fenton processes were investigated. H2O2/UV-C and photo-Fenton processes ensured complete removal of NP-10, which was accompanied by the generation of polyethylene glycols with 3-8 ethoxy units. Formation of aldehydes and low carbon carboxylic acids was evidenced. According to the acute toxicity tests carried out with Vibrio fischeri, degradation products being more inhibitory than the original NP-10 solution were formed after the H2O2/UV-C process, whereas the photo-Fenton process appeared to be toxicologically safer since acute toxicity did not increase relative to the original NP-10 solution after treatment. Temporal evolution of the acute toxicity was strongly correlated with the identified carboxylic acids being formed during the application of H2O2/UV-C and photo-Fenton processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)275-282
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume263
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2013

Keywords

  • Acute toxicity
  • Degradation product
  • Nonylphenol decaethoxylate (NP-10)
  • Photo-Fenton process

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