Effects of Ozonation on the Biodegradability of Substituted Phenols

Abstract

The aerobic biodegradability of unoxidized and ozonated chloro-, nitro-, and amino-phenols was investigated using batch bioassays with unacclimated biomass. Chloro- and nitro-phenols exhibited biorecalcitrant behavior at 200 mg/liter as COD, yet were more readily degraded at 30 mg/liter as COD. Ozonation of chloro- and nitro-phenols significantly enhanced their biodegradability. While unoxidized aminophenols were readily degradable, ozonation significantly decreased their biodegradability. Quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs) using Hammett constants were developed for biodegradability of unoxidized substituted phenols. For the eight substituted phenols studied, ozonation significantly decreased the Microtox toxicity of each, with EC50 values increasing from 0.7 to 1.6 orders-of-magnitude.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Second Department

Chemistry

Keywords and Phrases

Activated sludge; Aminophenol; Biodegradation; Chlorophenol; Hammett constants; Nitrophenol; Quantitative structure activity relationship; Toxicity

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0043-1354

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Elsevier; IWA Publishing, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1997

Link to Full Text

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