Environmental Fate of Chiral Herbicide Fenoxaprop-ethyl in Water-Sediment Microcosms

The environmental fate of the herbicide fenoxaprop-ethyl (FE) in water, sediment and water-sediment microcosm was studied and degradation products fenoxaprop (FA), ethyl-2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoate (EHPP), 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoic acid (HPPA) and 6-chloro-2,3-dihydrobenzoxazol-2-one (CDHB) were monitored. FE, FA, EHPP and HPPA were chiral and the environmental behavior was investigated on an enantiomeric level. In water, sediment and water-sediment microcosms, fenoxaprop-ethyl degraded very fast with half-lives less than 1 day and it was found the herbicidally inactive S-enantiomer degraded faster. Fenoxaprop was the main primary degradation product which was quickly formed and the further degradation was relatively slow with half-lives of 6.4–12.4 days, and the S-enantiomer degraded faster too. EHPP, HPPA and CDHB could be found and S-EHPP and S-HPPA were degraded preferentially. The effects of microorganism and water content were investigated and it was found that the enantioselectivity was attributed to microorganisms. In sediment, the main degradation pathway of fenoxaprop-ethyl was hydrolysis and the degradation rate of fenoxaprop-ethyl increased with water content. The degradation products and enantioselectivity should be considered for the impact of fenoxaprop-ethyl on the aquatic system.