Role of wetland organic matters as photosensitizer for degradation of micropollutants and metabolites

Overall photodegradation of pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PPCPs) and pharmaceutical metabolites were investigated in order to evaluate their photochemical fate in aquatic environments in various natural organic matter (NOM) enriched solutions. Tested PPCPs exhibited different rates of loss during direct and indirect photolysis. Here, only ultraviolet (UV) light source was used for direct photolysis and UV together with (DOM)-D-3* for indirect photolysis. Diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole were susceptible to photodegradation, whereas carbamazepine, caffeine, paraxanthine and tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) showed low levels of photodegradation rate, reflecting their conservative photoreactivity. During indirect photodegradation, in contrast to the hydrophilic autochthonous NOM, allochthonous NOM with relatively high molecular weight (MW), specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) and hydrophobicity (e.g., Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA)) revealed to significantly inhibit the photolysis of target micropollutants. The presence of Typha wetland NOM enhanced the indirect photolysis of well-known conservative micopollutants (carbamazepine and paraxanthine). And atenolol, carbamazepine, glimepiride, and N-acetyl-sulfamethoxazole were found to be sensitive to the triplet excited state of dissolved organic matter ((DOM)-D-3*) with Typha wetland NOM under deoxygenated condition. This suggests that photolysis in constructed wetlands connected to the wastewater treatment plant can enhance the degradation of some anthropogenic micropollutants by the interaction with (DOM)-D-3* in wetlands. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.