Determination of intermediate reactive species generation seasonality from waters of Santo Anastacio-SP river

• Grant number: 19/13219-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2019
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Resources
• Principal Investigator: Marcela Prado Silva Parizi
• Grantee: Natália Garcez Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia e Ciências (FEC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rosana. Rosana , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Endochrine disruptors (ED) are a group of chemicals that, even at low concentrations, can interfere in endocrine system of humans, among then are pesticides. Sugarcane cultivation is responsible for a large part of pesticides consumption in Brazil, the country is the largest producer of sugarcane in the world and the expressiveness of sucro-alcohol industry is also evidenced by the expansion of sugarcane cultivation in the Pontal do Paranapanema region. In this region there is a great concern about the presence of agrochemicals in the aqueous medium. Abiotic transformations, such as photoinduced processes, can represent major removal pathways, especially for pollutants refractory to biological degradation, as pesticides. The mechanisms of photoinduced degradation processes involve direct photolysis and indirect photodegradation, the latter referring to the degradation of a compound with the aid of photochemically generated transients. Therefore, indirect photolysis depends on the chemical composition of water bodies that has seasonal trends due to the combination of biological and chemical processes. The knowledge of micropollutants fate in the environment is essential to assess their potential impacts. However, there are few papers in the literature that are dedicated to determine the attenuation of micropollutants in rivers. In this context, this research project intends to characterize the waters of Santo Anastácio river, one of the main rivers of Pontal do Paranapanema, in order to determine its potential of photochemical attenuation against micropollutants and also determine how this potential varies throughout the year.