A simulation research on the natural degradation process of tetrabromobisphenol A in soil under the atmospheric...

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is one of the most commonly used flame retardants and has become an environmental contaminant worldwide. More data on the basic characteristics of TBBPA are needed to better understand and used to describe its environmental fate. The aim of this study is to investigate the degradation of TBBPA with different degrees of bromination under the atmospheric different environments. TBBPA was removed quickly due to the strong oxidizing ability of ozone in the atmospheric environment. The half-life of TBBPA was approximately 2.5 h when the ozone concentration was 0.3 mg L(-1). The degradation reaction rates of TBBPA increase with increasing ozone concentration but decreased with increasing soil depth. When the ozone concentration was 10 mg L(-1), the removal rate of TBBPA reached 90.37 % at the soil surface after 2 h. Under UV irradiation, TBBPA was removed quickly, and the photodegradation reactions were faster than with solar irradiation. The conditions of alkaline soil and high ground temperature in the summer were both contributors to the degradation of TBBPA. These results could facilitate the improvement of waste treatment designs and could lead to better predictions of the outcome of TBBPA in the environment.