Degradation of the antifungal pharmaceutical clotrimazole by UVC and vacuum-UV irradiation: Kinetics, transformation products and attenuation of toxicity

Azole fungicides are frequently detected as water contaminants due to extensive societal use, and these broad-spectrum antifungal chemicals can cause harmful effects in non-target organisms. Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) treatment is an efficient green technology that produces hydroxyl radical remove from water. This study investigated the potential of UVC (254 nm) combined VUV/UVC (185/254 widely used compound clotrimazole Degradation kinetics, degradation mechanisms, toxicity mitigation were using a VUV photoreactor. Toxicity aquatic organisms before after UV luminescent bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri , bioluminescent yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae BLYR filamentous fungus Fusarium graminearum, freshwater microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata crustacean Daphnia magna . irradiation efficiently degraded persistent pollutant at elevated concentrations (mg/L) environmental (µg/L) with > 50% abatement 1 min 95% removal within 32 min. photolysis produced 8 transformation products manly resulting drug hydroxylation phenyl ring and/or imidazole group followed by opening or loss moiety. Substantial decrease was observed suggesting aqueous generated less-toxic products. • removed did now require addition supplementary oxidants catalysts. Clotrimazole pathways under proposed. battery test reduced UV.