Exploring indirect photolysis of 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate in landfill leachate under simulated sunlight: effect of humic acid and nitrate
Abstract
Landfill leachate is exposed to sunlight through on- and off-site leachate treatment and disposal to surface water bodies. Very little is known about the potential phototransformation of fluorotelomer compounds in landfill leachates, which can undergo environmental oxidation and produce perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). This study investigated phototransformation of spiked 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (FTS) (∼ 100 μg/L) in leachate under simulated sunlight, using a metal halide lamp (wavelength, 390 to 750 nm). To understand the effects of nitrate and humic acid (HA), phosphate buffer (pH 7.1) containing nitrate and HA were spiked with 6:2 FTS and irradiated under simulated sunlight for 72 h. Following irradiation, 6:2 FTS and known transformation products (i.e., PFCAs) were quantified in the samples using LC-MS/MS. The results showed that 6:2 FTS was undergoing indirect photolysis in leachate (half-life of ∼ 15 days), suggesting that indirect photolysis of 6:2 FTS is likely a relevant transformation pathway in sunlit aquatic environments. However, the spiked 6:2 FTS did not show any observable decrease in the presence of nitrate and HA over 72 h. Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) increased in irradiated leachate background samples (without 6:2 FTS spike) suggesting that phototransformation in sunlit leachate could lead to the formation of persistent PFCAs at environmental concentrations of the precursors. Future studies using probe compounds are recommended to better understand the roles of reactive species in phototransformation of 6:2 FTS.
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Tributaries that join Little Neshaminy Creek between sites 11-12 could also be a potential source of PFDA in the system.
“Tributaries that join Little Neshaminy Creek between sites 11-12 could also be a potential source of PFDA in the system, although several studies have observed PFDA in STP outfalls.”
Cites
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Gobelius, L., Hedlund, J., Dürig, W., Tröger, R., Lilja, K., Wiberg, K., & Ahrens, L. (2018) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b05718 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
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Aerobic biotransformation of fluorotelomer compounds in landfill leachate-sediment
Hamid, H., Li, L. Y., & Grace, J. R. (2020) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136547 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationHamid, H., Li, L. Y., & Grace, J. R. (2020) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113835 · Cited by 92 · cited 4× · see citing works
“…that the DOC, ammonia, anion and cation concentrations of the leachate were closer to the lower bound of typical literature values (hundreds to thousands of mg/L for DOC, ammonia, anions and tens to hundreds of mg/L for cations) (Kjeldsen et al. 2002; Hamid et al. 2020b) than the higher bound.”
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Woodward, E. E., Senior, L. A., Fleck, J. A., Barber, L. B., Hansen, A. M., & Duris, J. W. (2024) · ACS ES&T Water · doi:10.1021/acsestwater.4c00288 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hamid, H., Li, L. Y., & Grace, J. R.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Loretta Y.
- Venue
- Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Published
- 2020-11-04
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 9508-9516
- ISSN
- 0944-1344 (ISSN-L)
- 1614-7499
- OpenAlex
- W3097875650
- Semantic Scholar
- 0910fbc80c6a11bc40a8fad055bdce7ee18876c5
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science and Pollution Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN 185040-13, RGPIN 2018-03832, CGSD3-475849-2015, RGPIN 7111-11)
- Schlumberger Foundation (Faculty for Future Fellowship)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Landfill Environmental Impact Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate, indirect photolysis, landfill leachate, simulated sunlight, perfluorocarboxylic acids, perfluorohexanoic acid, nitrate, humic acid, photochemical transformation, PFAS precursors, half-life, reactive species
- MeSH terms
- Chromatography, Liquid, Humic Substances, Nitrates, Photolysis, Sunlight, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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