Degradation pathways of decabromodiphenyl ether during hydrothermal treatment

The hydrothermal degradation pathways of decabromodiphenyl ether during hydrothermal treatment were investigated. After an initial “Heating time”, the reaction runs were carried out at constant temperature (heating to 300 °C and keeping temperature) and pressure (8 MPa) in a SUS316 stainless steel micro autoclave filled with water. Some decomposition of decabromodiphenyl ether was observed over 200 °C, and it was decomposed by more than 99% after 10 min at 300 °C. The reactivities of bromine on para and meta substituents were relatively high, while its reactivity on ortho bromine was extremely low. The formations of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PBDD/DFs) were observed in the early stages of the reactions at around 300 °C. The TCDD toxicity equivalency (TCDD-EQs) of the by-products was determined based on relative potencies (REPs EC5TCDD) with the Dioxin-Responsive-Chemical Activated Luciferase gene eXpression (DR-CALUX) bioassays technology. These results indicated that the risk of formation of PBDD/DFs in the hydrothermal degradation of deca-BDE was low, and it would be possible to reduce the TCDD-EQs value by adding some catalyst or alkali, or extending processing time.