Degradation of pharmaceutical antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) by photocatalysis process using sol-gel based titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract This study is an attempt to the removal of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic from simulated wastewater using a photocatalytic process. The photocatalytic process was carried out in a photocatalytic reactor in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. TiO2 nanoparticles were successfully prepared in a laboratory scale using sol-gel method with titanium-isopropoxide (TTIP) as titanium precursor. Prepared material was found very effective to the removal of CIP antibiotic. The maximum removal efficiency of 87.95% of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solution was achieved at the pH 5, catalyst doze of 40 mg L−1 with initial concentration of ciprofloxacin 5 mg L−1, and the reaction time of 100 min additionally; material characterization of TiO2 was presented in detail in terms of XRD, SEM, UV, and FTIR. It has been found that at the optimum condition the total operating cost indicated for the removal of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solution is 786.56 (INR/kg of CIP removal). This technique demonstrated that photocatalytic reaction in presence of TiO2 nanoparticles is well applicable to treat pharmaceutical wastewater.