Behavioural characteristics of poly brominated diphenyl ethers in soil

Cantwell, Cuirin (2021) Behavioural characteristics of poly brominated diphenyl ethers in soil. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis work focused on the determination of behavioral characteristics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in a soil setting. As emerging persistent organic pollutants (EPOPs), PBDEs have been shown to impact the health of ecosystems and living organisms in a negative way. PBDEs have a particular affinity towards the organic carbon content found within soil particles, thus understanding their fate and transport in this setting is important information needed for effective and efficient remedial efforts. In this thesis, the adsorption behavior of all 209 PBDE congeners is determined through 3D-QSAR techniques by estimating each of their organic carbon-water partition coefficient (Koc) values. In addition, the biodegradability of commonly occurring PBDE congeners is studied through considering unique enzymes that may be readily available in soil while conducting molecular docking. The research outputs indicated that the degree of bromination plays a significant role in how PBDEs behave in soil due to compound stability and molecular geometry. Moving forward, the findings help to advance the knowledge on PBDE behaviors in soil and facilitate the environmental engineering operations by means of creating more efficient and effective ways of remediating PBDEs out of a soil environment.

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