Removal of Sulfonamide Antibiotics in Peracetic Acid-Mediated Natural Polyphenol Systems via an Overlooked Polymerization Pathway: Role of <i>ortho</i>-Quinones
Sheng Li, Jing Zou, Jian‐Ying Wu, Linfeng He, Chenyu Tang, Fei Li, Bo Sun, Min Zhao, Qingsong Li, Panpan Wang, Li Huang, Qingfeng Cheng, Haoqiang Tan, Jun Ma
Abstract
Natural polyphenols can be oxidized into reactive quinones, which might play a key role in the removal of specific contaminants in natural polyphenol-related advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). In this study, peracetic acid (PAA) was employed in combination with natural protocatechuic acid (PCA) to remove sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) from water. More than 95% removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and other SAs was observed in the PCA/PAA system, and neutral pH conditions (5.0–8.0) were more conducive to the removal of SMX. The PCA/PAA system exhibited a great anti-interference ability against complex water matrices. ortho -Quinone, generated from the oxidation of PCA by PAA, played a dominant role in the SMX removal. Electrons tended to transfer from SMX to the generated ortho -quinones and form covalent bonds, resulting in the production of less toxic oligomers via the overlooked polymerization pathway. A reduction in the toxicity of the SMX solution was found following treatment with the PCA/PAA system. More interestingly, several polyphenols structurally related to PCA could also facilitate SMX removal using PAA as the oxidant. Overall, this study proposes a novel strategy for developing reactive quinones dominated AOPs with robust anti-interference performance, as well as enhances the understanding of contaminant removal via an overlooked polymerization pathway in natural polyphenol-related AOPs.