LAUSR

Abstract Due to the extremely high stability of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), effective defluorination is difficult. Previous studies indicated that PFOS can be decomposed under the catalysis of vitamin B12 (VB12) with strong artificial reductants such as Ti(III)-citrate and nZn0. In this study, we explored if naturally occurring reductant like sulfide (S2−) could initiate the reaction. In S2−/VB12 system, branched PFOS (br-PFOS) can undergo effective decomposition and defluorination at the temperature of 70 °C and pH greater than 12. The degradation of br-PFOS fits pseudo-first-order kinetic with a rate constant of 0.0984 ± 0.0034 d-1 in the presence of 30 mM Na2S and 300 μM VB12, while linear PFOS (L-PFOS) remained stable during 30 d reaction process. UV–Vis spectral characterization indicates that S2− reduces VB12(CoIII) to CoII, which is able to initiate the reductive defluorination. Based on the product analysis, HF/2F elimination followed by C–C scission is the dominant degradation pathway of br-PFOS instead of stepwise H/F exchange. The primary products include F− and polyfluorinated sulfonates and carboxylates. The degradation of br-PFOS is strongly dependent on temperature due to a relatively high apparent activation energy of 62.86 kJ/mol. Strong alkaline condition can greatly enhance the decomposition efficiency since S2− is the primary reactive form. This study provides new insights into the VB12-catalyzed defluorination of PFOS and a feasible approach for future natural or engineered remediations of br-PFOS.