Assessing the Performance of Environmentally Friendly-Produced Zerovalent Iron Nanoparticles to Remove Pharmaceuticals from Water

Iliana Panagou,Nymphodora Papassiopi,Simos Malamis,Daniel Mamais,Evridiki Barka,Maria Kalli,Constantinos Noutsopoulos,Elena Koumaki,Christiana Mystrioti

doi:10.3390/su132212708

Iliana Panagou, Nymphodora Papassiopi + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212708

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Nov 17, 2021
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: National Technical University of Athens

Abstract

Nano zerovalent iron (nZVI), produced from green tea extracts, was incorporated in a cation exchange resin (R-nFe) to investigate its performance regarding the removal of four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): ibuprofen (IBU), naproxen (NPX), ketoprofen (KTP) and diclofenac (DCF). The effect of contact time, NaCl pretreatment, pH, R-nFe dose, the role of the supporting material, the initial concentration of pollutants, and the combined effect of nZVI with oxidative reagents was assessed through a series of batch experiments. According to the results, the best removal efficiencies obtained for DCF and KTP were 86% and 73%, respectively, at 48 h of contact time with NaCl pretreated R-nFe at a dose of 15 g L−1 and a pH of 4. The maximum removal efficiency for NPX was 90% for a contact time of 60 min with PS 1 mM and a pH of 3, which was quite similar to the experiment with a greater contact time of 48 h without PS addition. The maximum IBU removal was 70%; this was reached at pH 3, with a contact time of 30 min and R-nFe 15 g L−1. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study investigating the utilization of nZVI, produced from leaf extracts and incorporated into a cationic exchange resin, to remove NSAIDs from water.

Highlights

The occurrence of recalcitrant and persistent micropollutants in the environment is nowadays of major concern for the preservation of the quality of natural resources and the protection of biodiversity and human health
The results indicated that the resin with incorporated Nano zerovalent iron (nZVI) did not have a negative effect on the efficiency of the removal of NPX, DCF, IBU, and KTP
To investigate the valence state of the Fe inside the resin beads, following treatment with the green tea (GT) polyphenols, representative samples of the resin corresponding to the 3 steps of the synthesis procedure, i.e., R-Na, resin after the adsorption of trivalent iron (R-Fe) and R-nFe samples, were mixed with an aqueous solution containing a molar excess of Cr+3

Summary

Introduction

The occurrence of recalcitrant and persistent micropollutants in the environment is nowadays of major concern for the preservation of the quality of natural resources and the protection of biodiversity and human health. These micropollutants are usually referred to in the literature as “emerging contaminants” (ECs), “emerging pollutants” (EPs) or “contaminants of emerging concern” (CECs); they include a wide range of chemicals that are contained in everyday products, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, plasticizers, illicit drugs, and others [1,2]. Among the CECs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a vast category of chemical compounds that are used worldwide to treat inflammation, fever, and pain [11,12,13].

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