Removal of benzoylecgonine from water matrices through UV254/H2O2 process: Reaction kinetic modeling, ecotoxicity and genotoxicity assessment

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2016-11, Vol.318, p.515-525
• Main Authors: Spasiano, D., Russo, D., Vaccaro, M., Siciliano, A., Marotta, R., Guida, M., Reis, N.M., Li Puma, G., Andreozzi, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; AOP; Aquatic Organisms; Arrays; Benzoylecgonine; Boundary element method; Byproducts; Caenorhabditis elegans; Cocaine - analogs & derivatives; Cocaine - isolation & purification; Cocaine - toxicity; Daphnia magna; Droplets; Ecotoxicological assessment; Ecotoxicology; Genotoxicity; Hydrogen Peroxide - chemistry; Illicit drugs; Kinetic modeling; Kinetics; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mutagens - toxicity; Plants; Raphidocelis subcapitata; Reaction kinetics; Ultraviolet Rays; Vicia faba; Water - chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical - isolation & purification; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.07.034

[Display omitted] •UV/H2O2 oxidation process is effective for BE removal from aqueous matrices.•MCF photoreactor technology is a valid and useful tool in AOPs studies.•The kinetic constants of HO radicals attack to BE and its by-products are estimated.•BE removal through UV/H2O2 process is modeled in different aqueous matrices.•Genotoxicity tests suggest the risk of long term effects of BE by-products. Benzoylecgonine (BE), the main cocaine metabolite, has been detected in numerous surface water and treatment plants effluents in Europe and there is urgent need for effective treatment methods. In this study, the removal of BE by the UV254/H2O2 process from different water matrices was investigated. By means of competition kinetics method, the kinetic constant of reaction between BE and the photogenerated hydroxyl radicals (OH) was estimated resulting in kOH/BE=5.13×109M−1s−1. By-products and water matrices scavengers effects were estimated by numerical modeling of the reaction kinetics for the UV254/H2O2 process and validated in an innovative microcapillary film (MCF) array photoreactor and in a conventional batch photoreactor. The ecotoxicity of the water before and after treatment was evaluated with four organisms Raphidocelis subcapitata, Daphnia magna, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Vicia faba. The results provided evidence that BE and its transformation by-products do not have significant adverse effects on R. subcapitata, while D. magna underwent an increase of lipid droplets. C. elegans was the most sensitive to BE and its by-products. Furthermore, a genotoxicity assay, using V. faba, showed cytogenic damages during the cell mitosis of primary roots.