PubMed · 2026-03-26
Researchers tested three methods for removing antifungal chemicals — including tebuconazole, a common agricultural fungicide — from wastewater. UV light (photolysis) worked fastest and best, but it breaks fluconazole into byproducts that are actually more toxic to aquatic life than the original chemical.
Photolysis (UV light) eliminated climbazole and tebuconazole within 10 minutes and removed ~80% of fluconazole within 60 minutes — outperforming both biodegradation and electrooxidation.
Biodegradation removed fluconazole by only ~10% over five weeks, confirming it is highly persistent in conventional wastewater treatment.
Fluconazole's photolysis breakdown products showed greater chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms than the parent compound itself, raising new environmental concerns about UV-based treatment.