ABSTRACT The widespread use of pesticides in modern agriculture has led to the accumulation of persistent residues in soil, posing significant environmental and health risks. In this study, we evaluated the performance of solar‐assisted Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for the remediation of boscalid, a broad‐spectrum fungicide, in two agricultural soils with different organic matter (OM) contents and related physicochemical characteristics. Soil 1 (S1) had 0.03% OM, whereas Soil 2 (S2) contained 0.39% OM. Degradation experiments were conducted under natural sunlight using TiO 2 ‐photocatalysis, modified photo‐Fenton‐like treatment, and persulfate (PS)‐photooxidation, along with their corresponding dark controls under controlled laboratory conditions. The results revealed that solar‐assisted AOPs significantly enhanced boscalid degradation compared to dark treatments, with PS‐photooxidation exhibiting the highest degradation percentages in both soils (98% in S1 and 87% in S2 after 24 h of irradiation). TiO 2 ‐photocatalysis and modified photo‐Fenton‐like treatment achieved moderate to high removal in S1 (91% and 79%, respectively) but were less effective in S2 (59% and 68%, respectively). Kinetic analysis confirmed the superiority of solar‐assisted processes, with PS‐photooxidation showing the highest rate constants (655 × 10 −3 h −1 in S1 and 79 × 10 −3 h −1 in S2). Soil OM content appeared to influence treatment efficiency, with S2 consistently exhibiting lower degradation rates owing to radical scavenging, contaminant sorption and its darker colour. Although the contribution of other soil properties cannot be excluded. Post‐treatment soil analysis revealed moderate changes in pH, electrical conductivity, and OM content, which were more pronounced in the PS‐based systems. These results, obtained under controlled laboratory conditions, indicate the potential of solar‐assisted AOPs for the remediation of pesticide‐contaminated soils and highlight the importance of considering soil properties when selecting appropriate treatment strategies.
Aliste et al. (Wed,) studied this question.