Ecotoxicity and rapid degradation of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) subjected to combined vacuum UV and UV-C treatment.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are active ingredients in a palette of commercially available disinfectants, sanitizers, and biocides. QACs are widely used because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties but the ubiquitous uses have resulted in frequent detection in aquatic and terrestrial matrices including domestic wastewater, surface waters, urban soils and sediments. An increased domestic QACs consumption has increased the environmental occurrence, and investigation of mitigation methods and effects on non-target organisms are in demand. In this study, we examined the potential ecotoxicity of six QACs and investigated the effect of combined vacuum UV (185 nm) and UV-C (254 nm) irradiation (VUV/UVC) on degradation and mitigation of ecotoxicity of QACs. The study showed that combined VUV/UVC irradiation facilitated rapid degradation of benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, didecyldimethylammonium chloride, dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride. The estimated half-lives varied between 2 and 7 min, and degradation was affected by the initial QAC concentrations, the UV fluence, and the water matrix. The potential ecotoxicity of QACs and VUV/UVC treated QACs was examined using a battery of test organisms that included the luminescent bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri, the gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria Escherichiacoli and Enterococcus faecalis, the freshwater microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata, and the crustacean Daphia magna. The potential for trophic transfer of QACs was investigated in a simplified aquatic food web. Test organisms from different trophic levels were included to assess adverse effects of bioactive compounds in VUV/UVC treated samples including transformation products. The study showed that several QACs were highly toxic to aquatic test organisms with EC50 and/or EC20 values < 1 μM. VUV/UVC treatment of QACs resulted in substantial photolysis of the parent compounds and comprehensive mitigation of the ecotoxicity potential. VUV/UVC represent an attractive oxidation technology for abatement QACs in contaminated water because the process does not require addition of catalysts or precursors.