Removal of neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin from water by ozone-based oxidation: Kinetics and transformation products

In this paper, reaction kinetics, degradation mechanisms and associated toxicity have been assessed in detail concerning the abatement of neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin (CLO) by ozone-based oxidation in water. The second-order rate constants for the reaction of CLO with molecular ozone (O3) and hydroxyl radical (OH) were determined by the direct and competition kinetics (with UV/H2O2 system as the radical source) methods, respectively, and estimated to be 103 M−1 s−1 and 3.7·109 M−1 s−1. This suggested a (potential) higher contribution of the indirect mechanism rather than the direct degradative pathway in the CLO ozonation process. Additionally, CLO oxidation was studied through an O3 and O3/H2O2 system for three complex real water matrices with distinct characteristics. DOC content was found to be the main parameter responsible for making difficult the achievement of high CLO degradations, whereas carbonate alkalinity did not exert a great impact on the process efficiency. Results indicated that typical ozone doses (up to 1 mg O3/mg DOC) were not enough for the complete removal of this micropollutant, ranging only from 50 to 80%. The study concerning the transformation products (TPs), performed by means of high-resolution mass spectrometry, allowed to suggest potential degradation routes based on the five major CLO-TPs identified. It was inferred that OH was involved in the formation of all TPs, whereas O3 was only involved in the formation of two of them. A preliminary toxicity assessment concerning CLO and its TPs during ozonation was conducted at three different trophic levels via the ECOSAR software. Results showed that none of the compounds was classified as very toxic for aquatic organisms, and all TPs exhibited minor toxicity than the parent compound. Changes in molecular structure, such as chlorothiazole ring breakdown, could be the main reason for this considerable decrease in toxicity. Overall, the present study demonstrates that ozonation can be considered a suitable technology alternative for CLO (and associated toxicity) abatement from aqueous matrices.