Photochemical Transformation of Nicotine in Wastewater Effluent

Abstract

Nicotine is a highly toxic tobacco alkaloid that is ubiquitous in wastewater effluent. For the first time, we report the identification of the products and the pathways for the photodegradation of nicotine in an effluent matrix under simulated solar irradiation. Nicotine was found to be degraded by triplet-state organic matter (OM*), thus indicating that electron transfer is a preferred reaction mechanism. Using the multivariate statistical strategies orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and hierarchical clustering, 49 potential transformation products (TPs) of nicotine were successfully extracted from the water matrix via high-resolution ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS). Overall, 30 TPs, including 4 groups of nonseparated isomeric photo TPs, were identified with various levels of confidence based on the tandem mass spectrometry information on standard compounds and the isotope-labeling method (using rac-nicotine-2',3',3'-D, rac-nicotine-CD, and rac-nicotine-D) under air-saturated conditions. The pyrrolidine ring of nicotine was found to be the reactive site under sunlight irradiation. Pseudooxynicotine was the main primary TP from nicotine, with a maximum transformation ratio of 64%. Nicotinic acid, cotinine, 3'-hydroxycotinine, and myosmine were the final stable TPs after 72 h of solar irradiation, with yields of 13%, 3%, 5%, and 5%, respectively.

The invasive butterbur contaminates stream and seepage water in groundwater wells with toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids

“…PMOCs include surfactants, polar industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products 28,29 . Alkaloids applied as pharmaceuticals or stimulants are also commonly found in waste water and sewage sludge, whereas groundwater surveys reveal alkaloid caffeine among the most frequently encountered compounds 23,[30][31][32][33][34] .…”

Gallic Acid-Containing Gelatin-Based Nonwoven Mat with Synergistic Photodegradation and Photoindication Function for Reducing Nicotine

“…Moreover, gallic acid was excited, and part of the excited state was transformed from a singlet state to a triplet state. The triplet state of the gallic acid performed two functions: enhancement of the UV absorption and photodegradation of the pollutant [ 2 ]. The aforementioned mechanism is depicted in Scheme 1 .…”

“…Cigarette smoking is a popular habit that causes negative health consequences worldwide, including pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [ 1 ]. When one smokes a cigarette, nicotine in the mainstream smoke is breathed into the lungs and the sidestream smoke pollutes the nearby air [ 2 ]. Some medical research has suggested that nicotine is the major addictive component in tobacco and inhaling excessive nicotine can cause limb peripheral vasoconstriction, rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, platelet aggregation, cardiovascular blockage, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases [ 3 ].…”

Photochemical Transformation and Catalytic Activity of Dissolved Black Nitrogen Released from Environmental Black Carbon

“…The irradiation experiments were performed in an Atlas SunTest CPS+ solar simulator equipped with a 1 kW xenon arc lamp. 27 Reaction vessels were 50 mL glass vials to which 50 mL of 100 mg L −1 DBN or DBC solution were added with continuous magnetic stirring. The solution pH remained at 7.0 ± 0.3 during the irradiation without any adjustment.…”