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.
1
Photolysis (UV light) eliminated climbazole and tebuconazole within 10 minutes and removed ~80% of fluconazole within 60 minutes — outperforming both biodegradation and electrooxidation.
2
Biodegradation removed fluconazole by only ~10% over five weeks, confirming it is highly persistent in conventional wastewater treatment.
3
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.
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