Decontamination of toxic Malathion pesticide in aqueous solutions by Fenton-based processes: Degradation pathway, toxicity assessment and health risk assessment

This study evaluates the degradation efficiency of Malathion using Fenton (Fe2+/H2O2: F), photo-Fenton (UV/Fe2+/H2O2: PF), and sono-photo Fenton (US/UV/Fe2+/H2O2: SPF) processes as well as determines the toxicity of the byproducts of degradation. The effect of various operational parameters on the Malathion degradation rate, including pH, Fe2+ concentration, Malathion concentration, and H2O2 were studied. The removal efficiency was determined to be 98.79% for the SPF, > 70.92% for the PF, and > 55.94% for the F processes under the following optimal conditions: pH = 3, [H2O2]0 = 700 mg/L, [Fe2+]0 = 20 mg/L, and [Malathion]0 = 20 mg/L. The operating costs (USD/kgMalathion-removed) were acquired as SPF > PF > F. Moreover, Malaoxon, diethyl maleate, diethyl malate, ethyl 2-hydroxysuccinate, and D-malate were among the detected byproducts from the Malathion degradation in the SPF process. Both the non-carcinogenic risk and the carcinogenic risk were assessed to establish the quality of the effluent from all three processes. The toxicity of the treated effluents, determined by Vibrio fischeri luminescence, indicated that the toxicity depends on the selected treatment process. The high degradation efficiency of the Fenton-based processes is not equivalent to achieving detoxification of the effluents. As such, the SPF process was determined to be the most effective for the Malathion degradation, total organic carbon (TOC) removal, and health risk assessment.