Pathways and Analytical Tools in Degradation Studies of Organic Pollutants

All chemical compounds may undergo a variety of processes resulting from chemical, biological, or photochemical reactions. Depending on the environmental compartment in which organic compounds are present (e.g., soil, benthic sediments, surfacewaters, and groundwaters), they can undergo slow changes resulting from different chemical, physical, biological, or photochemical processes. In this study, different degradation pathways for selected persistent organic pollutants under varying conditions are presented. The problem of intermediate products that form during the degradation of substances, the toxicity of substances that are the products of organic compounds degradation, and the ways to identify such substances have been discussed.

Keywords:

• organic pollutants
• degradation
• photodegradation
• biodegradation
• kinetics
• analytical tools

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was partially financed within the framework of a research project founded by the Polish Committee for the Scientific Research in Warsaw (research project # 4 T09A 083 25). The authors thank the Department of Analytical Chemistry constitutes “Centre of Excellence in Environmental Analysis and Monitoring” which is a research project supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme and contributing to the implementation of the Key Action “Sustainable Management and Quality of Water” within the Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Development (Contract No.: EVK1-CT-2002-80010).