Application of ionizing radiation in decomposition of selected organic pollutants in waters

The application of ionizing radiation is especially effective advanced oxidation process (AOP) for the removal of organic pollutants from waters and wastes, based on fast reactions with hydroxyl radicals formed as result of radiolysis of water. The reported investigations were carried out with the use of g irradiation from the 60Co source, while for the effective technological applications the irradiation with accelerated electron beam is usually employed. The studies carried out concerned two selected organic pollutants widely detected in environmental samples, namely organophosphorus pesticide chlorfenvinphos, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac. The chromatographic methods were applied for determination of yield of decomposition of target compound as function of absorbed irradiation dose. Moreover, toxicity monitoring was carried out in irradiated solutions. In case of diclofenac the pulse radiolysis method was employed for evaluation of the rate-constant for reaction with hydroxyl radical, while GC/MS and LC/MS methods were used for the identification of products of decomposition.