Isotope Effects as New Proxies for Organic Pollutant Transformation

Authors

  • Thomas B. Hofstetter Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology Department of Environmental Chemistry Überlandstr. 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland. thomas.hofstetter@eawag.ch
  • Jakov Bolotin Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology Department of Environmental Chemistry Überlandstr. 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Sarah G. Pati Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology Department of Environmental Chemistry Überlandstr. 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
  • Marita Skarpeli-Liati Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology Department of Environmental Chemistry Überlandstr. 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
  • Stephanie Spahr Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology Department of Environmental Chemistry Überlandstr. 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Environmental Engineering, EPF Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Reto S. Wijker Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2014.788

Keywords:

Compound-specific isotope analysis, Degradation mechanism, Kinetic isotope effect, Pollutant transformation

Abstract

Assessing the pathways and rates of organic pollutant transformation in the environment is a major challenge due to co-occurring transport and degradation processes. Measuring changes of stable isotope ratios (e.g. 13C/12C, 2H/1H, 15N/14N) in individual organic compounds by compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) makes it possible to identify degradation pathways without the explicit need to quantify pollutant concentration dynamics. The so-called isotope fractionation observed in an organic pollutant is related to isotope effects of (bio)chemical reactions and enables one to characterize pollutant degradation even if multiple processes take place simultaneously. Here, we illustrate some principles of CSIA using benzotriazole, a frequently observed aquatic micropollutant, as example. We show subsequently how the combined C and N isotope fractionation analysis of nitroaromatic compounds reveals kinetics and mechanisms of reductive and oxidative reactions as well as their (bio)degradation pathways in the environment.

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Published

2014-11-26

Issue

Section

Scientific Articles

How to Cite

[1]
T. B. Hofstetter, J. Bolotin, S. G. Pati, M. Skarpeli-Liati, S. Spahr, R. S. Wijker, Chimia 2014, 68, 788, DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2014.788.