Stability and Removal of Benzophenone-Type UV Filters from Water Matrices by Advanced Oxidation Processes

Abstract

Benzophenone (BP) type UV filters are common environmental contaminants that are posing a growing health concern due to their increasing presence in water. Different studies have evidenced the presence of benzophenones (BP, BP-1, BP-2, BP-3, BP-4, BP-9, HPB) in several environmental matrices, indicating that conventional technologies of water treatment are not able to remove them. It has also been reported that these compounds could be associated with endocrine-disrupting activities, genotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. This review focuses on the degradation kinetics and mechanisms of benzophenone-type UV filters and their degradation products (DPs) under UV and solar irradiation and in UV-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as UV/H2O2, UV/persulfate, and the Fenton process. The effects of various operating parameters, such as UV irradiation including initial concentrations of H2O2, persulfate, and Fe2+, on the degradation of tested benzophenones from aqueous matrices, and conditions that allow higher degradation rates to be achieved are presented. Application of nanoparticles such as TiO2, PbO/TiO2, and Sb2O3/TiO2 for the photocatalytic degradation of benzophenone-type UV filters was included in this review.

Flavonoids Biosynthesis in Plants as a Defense Mechanism: Role and Function Concerning Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetic Properties

“…Flavonoids responsible for The color and aroma of flowers, fruit dispersal, the germination of seeds and spores, and the growth and development of seedlings in plants are all influenced by flavonoids, which are produced in particular locations [27]. In addition to acting as UV filters [28], signal molecules, allopathic chemicals, phytoalexins, detoxifying agents, and antimicrobials, flavonoids shield plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. Plants' ability to adapt to heat and tolerate freezing may be influenced by flavonoids [29].…”