Hydrolysis of octachlorodipropyl ether in aqueous solutions

The hydrolysis of octachlorodipropyl ether (OCDPE) was investigated in aqueous solutions under a variety of pH conditions (pH 3.0-11.0), temperatures (10-35 °C) and with the initial concentrations of OCDPE (1.0-100 mg L^-1). OCDPE hydrolysis was found to obey the first-order model and similar rate constant values ranging from 0.0361 ± 0.0006 to 0.0406 ± 0.0008 day^-1 were obtained at different initial concentration ranging from 1.0 to 100 mg/L. The rates of OCDPE degradation were pH dependent, with increasing k values being associated with higher pH values. At pH 11.0 OCDPE degradation was >60-fold faster than at pH 3.0. The rate constant of OCDPE hydrolysis increases with the increases of the initial concentration and temperature. When the temperature is increased from 10 °C to 35 °C, the rate constant of hydrolysis rises 3-fold. The effect of temperature on the rate of OCDPE hydrolysis was characterized using the Arrhenius equation with an estimated energy of activation of 32.01 kJ mol^-1. The hydrolysis products of OCDPE are shown to be 1, 1, 2-trichloro-3-[(2',3',3'-trichloroallyl)oxy] prop-l-ene and 1, 1,2-trichloro-3-(2',3',3',3'-tetrachloropropoxy)prop-l-ene. The possible OCDPE hydrolysis pathway of dehydrochlorination is proposed.