Abstract
Bisphenol A is a commonly known endocrine-disrupting compound detected in environmental water samples. The persistence of this compound has been studied by photolysis and photocatalysis studies. In this work, several experiments were performed in order to identify the degradation products under various conditions and in different types of matrices (deionized and waste water). These studies included the influence of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), commonly present in drinking water, on the generation of chlorine by-products of bisphenol A. The effect of catalyses in solar degradation studies was evaluated as well. The identification of the degradation products was accomplished by liquid chromatography/time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (LC-ToF-MS), which provided highly selective information about elemental compositions. Accurate mass measurements for three main degradation products permitted the postulation of proposed empirical formula in this study. Some of the degradation products were formed in waste water matrices, thus suggesting their potential presence in environmental conditions and in drinking water.
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology Project Nos CTM2004-06265-C03-03 (Estudio integrado de la Eliminación, vigilancia avanzada e impacto ambiental de contaminantes emergentes en la depuración de aguas residuales urbanas e industrials, EVITA) and PPQ2002-04573-C04-03 (Calidad y tratamiento de agues residuals de centros hospitalarios). M. M. acknowledges the ‘Juan de la Cierva’ research contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. I. F. and M. D. H. acknowledge the research contracts (contrato de retorno de investigadores) from Consejería de Educación y Ciencia de la Junta de Andalucía, Spain.