• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.99-105
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• 2007

Nonylphenol polyetoxylates (NPnEOs) metabolites; nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), nonylphenoxyacetic acid (NPEC) (collectively referred to "NPE-c") were examined for their degradations by using of lab-scale UV/photocatalytic silicagel (ultraviolet photocatalytic degradation in the presence of silicagel coated with titanium dioxide as a catalyst) reactor. NPE-c degradations by UV/photocatalytic silicagel treatment reached approximately 85-93 % after 40 min irradiation independently of its initial concentration (between ca. 0.5 and 2.0mg/l). Any intermediates under the NPE-c degradation were not identified by GC/MS sample analysis. Degradations of NPE-c were followed pseudo first-order kinetics. Then, the effectiveness of UV/photocatalytic silicagel treatment for degradation of NPE-c was in the order of NPEC > NP > NP1EO.