Multiple roles of dissolved organic matter released from decomposing rice straw at different times in organic pollutant photodegradation

Abstract Rice straw returning causes a considerable amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM) can release into aquatic croplands in a relatively short-term. The presence of rice straw-derived DOM in cropland waters may alter the photochemical behaviors of organic pollutants. However, the photochemical activity and photosensitization role of the DOMs are poorly understood. Here, eight DOM samples were extracted from decomposing rice straw at different times in 49 days to explore their photosensitizing capacities toward diuron (DIU), 17β-estradiol (E2), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). All of the DOMs were photosensitive and mainly composed of tryptophan-, tyrosine- and fulvic-like substances. Over the decomposition period, the amount of photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs) by the DOMs peaked on days 7 and 14. The evolution of the DOM photosensitizing capacity towards DIU and E2 was consistent with the variations of PPRIs, and HO• was confirmed as a critical factor. However, the influence of the DOMs on SMX photodegradation was opposite to that on DIU and E2. The positive role of the DOMs in SMX photodegradation was attributed to the tryptophan-like components. The results suggest that straw-derived DOM is an important photosensitizer and that its photosensitization towards organic pollutants is dependent on straw decomposing time and pollutant type.