Fe2+ enhancing sulfamethazine degradation in aqueous solution by gamma irradiation

• Sulfamethazine (SMT) was irradiated in the presence of Fe2+.
• The presence of Fe2+ could enhance SMT degradation.
• Some intermediate products were identified.
• Possible pathways of SMT degradation were proposed.

The radiation-induced degradation of sulfamethazine (SMT) was carried out by gamma irradiation. SMT with initial concentration of 20 mg/L was irradiated in the presence of 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mM extra Fe2+. The results showed that ferrous ion (Fe2+) could enhance the degradation of SMT by gamma irradiation in aqueous solution. SMT could be almost completely removed at 1 kGy without extra Fe2+, however, TOC removal efficiency was less than 10%. Several intermediate products, such as 4,6-dimethylpyrimidin-2-amine, 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid, 4-nitrophenol 4-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid, 2-amino-6-methylpyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid, and 4-amino-N-carbamimidoyl-benzenesulfonamide and formic acid, acetic acid, and sulfate were identified. Possible pathway of SMT degradation in aqueous solution was tentatively proposed.