Ultrasonic Degradation of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Seawater and Brackish Water

In this study, a series of experiments was conducted on the relative degradation of commonly known endocrine-disrupting compounds such as bisphenol A (BPA) and $17{\alpha}$-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) in a single-component aqueous solution using 28 and 580 kHz ultrasonic reactors. The experiments were conducted with three different types of model water: deionized water (DI), synthetic brackish water (SBW), and synthetic seawater (SSW) at pH 4, 7.5, and 11 in the presence of inert glass beads and humic acids. Significantly higher sonochemical degradation (93-97% for BPA) occurred at 580 kHz than at 28 kHz (43-61% for BPA), regardless of water type. A slightly higher degradation was observed for EE2 compared to that of BPA. The degradation rate of BPA and EE2 in DI water, SBW, and SSW after 30 min of ultrasound irradiation at 580 kHz increased slightly with the increase in pH from 4 (0.073-0.091 $min^{-1}$ for BPA and 0.081-0.094 $min^{-1}$ for EE2) to 7.5 (0.087-0.114 $min^{-1}$ for BPA and 0.092-0.124 $min^{-1}$ for EE2). In contrast, significant degradation was observed at pH 11 (0.149-0.221 $min^{-1}$ for BPA and 0.147-0.228 $min^{-1}$ for EE2). For the given frequencies of 28 and 580 kHz, the degradation rate increased in the presence of glass beads (0.1 mm and 25 g) for both BPA and EE2: 0.018-0.107 $min^{-1}$ without beads and 0.052-0.142 $min^{-1}$ with beads for BPA; 0.021-0.111 $min^{-1}$ without beads and 0.054-0.136 $min^{-1}$ with beads for EE2. A slight increase in degradation of both BPA and EE2 was found as the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC, humic acids) increased in both SBW and SSW: 0.107-0.115 $min^{-1}$ in SBW and 0.087-0.101 $min^{-1}$ in SSW for BPA; 0.111-0.111 $min^{-1}$ in SWB and 0.092-0.105 $min^{-1}$ in SSW for EE2. After 30 min of sonicating the humic acid solution, DOC removal varied depending on the water type: 27% (3 mg $L^{-1}$) and 7% (10 mg $L^{-1}$) in SBW and 7% (3 mg $L^{-1}$) and 4% (10 mg $L^{-1}$) in SSW.