Flazasulfuron: alcoholysis, chemical hydrolysis, and degradation on various minerals.

The herbicide flazasulfuron undergoes rapid alcoholysis. High yields of the corresponding carbamate and aminopyrimidine are obtained after the alcoholysis process (methanol or ethanol) at 30 degrees C, in the course of which the concomitant rearrangement reaction remains minor. Hydrolysis (pH ranging from 5 to 11) of flazasulfuron at 30 degrees C principally involves the rearrangement into urea after elimination of SO(2) and can lead, in a small proportion, to both aminopyrimidine and pyridinesulfonamide. First-order kinetics correctly describes the rates of alcoholysis and hydrolysis. The sulfonylurea-bridge contraction and final transformation into the correspondent amine were evaluated with a first-order kinetics hypothesis. Transformations in amine and urea in aqueous medium are pH dependent. The chemical degradation of flazasulfuron on various dry minerals (calcium bentonite, kaolinite, silica, montmorillonite, and alumina) was investigated at 30 degrees C. The rearrangement reaction is the only one observed in the presence of kaolinite and alumina. However, hydrolysis and rearrangement have the same reaction rate in the presence of silica. The hydrolysis paths of flazasulfuron are comparable to the ones described for rimsulfuron.

Hydrolysis of sulfonylurea herbicides in soils and aqueous solutions: a review.

Sulfonylureas are a unique group of herbicides used for controlling a range of weeds and some grasses in a variety of crops and vegetables. They have been extremely popular worldwide because of their low mammalian toxicity, low use rate, and unprecedented herbicidal activity. Knowledge about the fate and behavior of sulfonylurea herbicides in the soil-water environment appears to be of utmost importance for agronomic systems and environmental protection. Because these herbicides are applied at a very low rate, and their mobility is greatly affected by the chemicals' anionic nature in alkaline soils, a thorough understanding of their degradation/hydrolysis processes and mechanisms under aqueous and soil systems is important. This review brings together published information on the hydrolysis of several sulfonylureas in aqueous and soil solutions that includes the effects of pH, temperature, functional relationship between pH vs hydrolysis rate constants, and hydrolysis behavior of sulfonylureas in the presence of minerals. In addition, the transformations of sulfonylureas in soil, under laboratory and field experiments, have been discussed in connection with the compounds' varied structural features, i.e., sulfonylueas that are with or without the pyridinic, pyrimidine, and triazinic ring.

Nicosulfuron: alcoholysis, chemical hydrolysis, and degradation on various minerals.

Alcoholysis (methanol or ethanol) and hydrolysis (pH ranging from 4 to 11) of the herbicide nicosulfuron at 30 degrees C principally involves the breakdown of the urea part of the molecule. A high yield of the corresponding carbamate was obtained along with aminopyrimidine during alcoholysis. Hydrolysis led to both aminopyrimidine and pyridylsulfonamide. The latter compound may be easily cyclized (pH > or = 7). First-order kinetics describe the rates of alcoholysis and hydrolysis well. The rate constants (0.44 days(-1) for methanolysis) decreased from 0.50 to 0.002 days(-1) as pH increased from 4 to 8, then remained stable under alkaline conditions. In acidic or neutral solution, the hydrolysis path appeared prevalent (> or =70%), whereas in an alkaline medium it decreased when pH increased. The chemical degradation of nicosulfuron on various dry minerals (calcium bentonite, kaolinite, silica gel, H(+) bentonite, montmorillonite K10, and alumina) was investigated at 30 degrees C. The best conditions for the degradation are obtained on acidic minerals after herbicide deposition using the liquid method. Under these conditions an acceptable correlation with pseudo-first-order kinetics was observed, and the major degradation path is similar to that proposed for chemical hydrolysis. Conversely, alumina seemed to favor other unknown degradation processes. The hydrolysis paths of nicosulfuron and rimsulfuron appeared to be different.