Transformation behavior and toxicity assessment of beaytlmethodeyammonNium chbride (BAC-12) disinfectant during hospital wastewater treatment

Chemosphere. 2025 Feb:370:143981. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143981. Epub 2024 Dec 20.

Abstract

This work focused on the transformation behavior of the emerging beaytlmethodeyammonium chbride (BAC-12) disinfectant existed in the treatment of medical sewage during its disinfection treatment. The degradation ability of ozone (O3) to BAC-12 was the best, followed by UV/NaOCl, UV, and NaOCl. The enhancement of BAC-12 in UV/NaOCl system is caused by the combined effect of UV photolysis, reactive chlorine species (RCS), and •OH. The transformation products of BAC-12 in the disinfection treatment were detected, and the chemical structure of products was rationalized by frontier molecular orbital and transition state theory methodologies. According to the ecological structure-activity relationship (ECOSAR) assessment, the intermediates of BAC-12 in UV, NaOCl, and UV/NaOCl treatments had lower half lethal concentration (LC50) and chronic toxicity (ChV) values with a higher ecotoxicity than BAC-12. O3 disinfection treatment of these toxic intermediates can significantly reduce the toxicity of the BAC-12 solution. This work provides necessary information on the potential environmental risks of BAC-12 arising from different disinfection methods in the treatment of medical wastewater.

Keywords: Beaytlmethodeyammonium chbride; Disinfectant; Sodium hypochlorite; Toxicity assessment; Transformation behavior; UV-Irradiation.

MeSH terms

  • Disinfectants* / chemistry
  • Disinfectants* / toxicity
  • Disinfection* / methods
  • Hospitals
  • Ozone* / chemistry
  • Ozone* / toxicity
  • Photolysis
  • Ultraviolet Rays
  • Waste Disposal, Fluid / methods
  • Wastewater* / chemistry
  • Wastewater* / toxicity
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical* / chemistry
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

  • Disinfectants
  • Wastewater
  • Ozone
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical