Phototransformation of biochar-derived dissolved organic matter and the effects on photodegradation of imidacloprid in aqueous solution under ultraviolet light

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) strongly influences the photodegradation of organic pollutants, varying depending on the structure of DOM. With the wide application of biochar, increasing amounts of DOM is released from biochar to the environment, which has different structural characteristics compared to natural DOM. In this study, DOM was derived from maize straw (MS) and pig manure (PM) and biochars by pyrolyzing MS and PM at 300 °C and 500 °C and the optical characteristics of DOM before and after phototransformation were explored via ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence. Photodegradation of an insecticide, imidacloprid (IMI) in the presence of DOM was examined. The results showed that DOM derived from biochar obtained by pyrolyzing MS and PM mainly contained two identified fluorescent components and high pyrolysis temperature (500 °C) was associated with low molecular weight, small light-screening effects and great aromaticity of the DOM. After exposure to UV light, the aromaticity and molecular weight of the DOM declined due to phototransformation. Significant enhancement was observed in IMI photodegradation in the presence of biochar-derived DOM, and the enhancement was the greatest with DOM derived from pig manure biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C. In addition to the light shielding effect, the 1O2 generated from DOM played an important role in the phototransformation of IMI and DOM. The loss of the nitro group and oxidation at the imidazolidine ring were the main photodegradation pathways for IMI. This study expands our understanding of the fate of biochar-derived DOM and its effects on the fate of coexisting organic pollutants.