article · Toxics
Butylated hydroxyanisole is a synthetic phenolic antioxidant that is increasingly detected in natural water bodies. To improve its degradation and minimise the toxicity of resulting byproducts, a treatment process combining peroxymonosulfate and ferrate(VI) was evaluated. The two chemicals demonstrated synergistic effects, breaking down 92.4 percent of the target compound within 30 minutes under specific laboratory conditions at pH 8.0 and 25 degrees Celsius. Systematic kinetic experiments demonstrated the influence of chemical dosage, background water matrices, and common dissolved ions such as chloride, sulphate, and bicarbonate. Analysis using mass spectrometry and density functional theory revealed that degradation proceeds primarily through hydroxyl radical attack, resulting in hydroxylation, ring-opening, and coupling reactions. Toxicity assessments confirmed that this combined oxidation approach significantly reduces the environmental risk of the transformation products.
Synthetic antioxidants often escape conventional wastewater facilities and accumulate in natural waters, posing potential ecological hazards. Demonstrating an advanced oxidation method that rapidly breaks down these persistent chemicals while simultaneously lowering byproduct toxicity provides a cleaner route for protecting aquatic environments and maintaining safer water resources.
This work is relevant to municipal wastewater operators, industrial effluent treatment facilities, and environmental engineering companies seeking advanced oxidation processes. As the study represents early-stage laboratory research examining reaction kinetics, mechanisms, and water matrices, further scale-up studies, engineering pilot tests, and continuous-flow assessments would be necessary before real-world deployment.
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Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a synthetic phenolic antioxidant (SPA), is now widely present in natural waters. To improve the degradation efficiency of BHA and reduce product toxicity, a combination of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and Ferrate(VI) (Fe(VI)) was used in this study. We systematically investigated the reaction kinetics, mechanism and product toxicity in the degradation of BHA through the combined use of PMS and Fe(VI). The results showed that PMS and Fe(VI) have synergistic effects on the degradation of BHA. The effects of operational factors, including PMS dosage, pH and coexisting ions (Cl<sup>-</sup>, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup>, HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and Mg<sup>2+</sup>), and different water matrices were investigated through a series of kinetic experiments. When T = 25 °C, the initial pH was 8.0, the initial BHA concentration was 100 μM, the initial concentration ratio of [PMS]<sub>0</sub>:[Fe(VI)]<sub>0</sub>:[BHA]<sub>0</sub> was 100:1:1 and the degradation rate could reach 92.4% within 30 min. Through liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) identification, it was determined that the oxidation pathway of BHA caused by PMS/Fe(VI) mainly includes hydroxylation, ring-opening and coupling reactions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that <sup>•</sup>OH was most likely to attack BHA and generate hydroxylated products. The comprehensive comparison of product toxicity results showed that the PMS/Fe(VI) system can effectively reduce the environmental risk of a reaction. This study contributes to the development of PMS/Fe(VI) for water treatment applications.
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DOI: 10.3390/toxics12010054
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