Degradation kinetics of prometryn and formation of disinfection by-products during chlorination.

Prometryn is a herbicide that is widely used and frequently detected in aqueous environment and soil. Prometryn is chemically stable, biologically toxic, and easily to accumulate in living bodies, which can cause accumulate in the environment and acute and chronic toxicity to living creatures. In this study, factors affecting the degradation kinetics of prometryn chlorination were studied, including solution pH, bromide and ammonium concentrations, and temperature. Prometryn reacted quickly with aqueous chlorine following the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The maximum pseudo-first-order rate constant (k app) appeared at pH 5 with the observed rate constant (k obs) as 190. 08 h−1; the minimum value of k app reached at pH 9 with k obs as 5.26 h−1. The presence of Br− and increase of temperature both accelerated the degradation rate of prometryn during chlorination. The activation energy was calculated as 31.80 kJ/mol. Meanwhile 6 disinfection by-products (DBPs) were detected, namely: chloroform (CF), trichloroacetonitrile (TCAN), dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN), dichloroacetone, trichloronitromethane (TCNM), and trichloroacetone. Solution pH significantly affected the formation and distribution of DBPs. CF was the most formed carbonated DBP (C-DBP) with the maximum of 217.9 μg/L at pH 8, and its formation was significantly higher in alkaline conditions. For nitrogenated DBPs (N-DBPs), the yields of DCAN and TCAN were significantly higher in acidic conditions, while the maximum of TCNM achieved in neutral conditions. Because the toxicity of N-DBPs is higher than that of C-DBPs, the pH should be controlled in neutral or slight alkaline conditions during prometryn chlorination to effectively control DBP formation and reduce the related toxicity. [Display omitted] • Prometryn chlorination followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. • The highest prometryn degradation rate happened at pH 5. • Br− promote prometryn degradation during chlorination, while NH 4 + inhibited it. • The degradation rate of prometryn increased with increasing temperature. • Solution pH should be controlled at around 7 to reduce the toxicity of DBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]