Abstract
This work demonstrates new evidence of the efficient destruction and mineralization of an emergent organic pollutant using UV-A and titanium nanosized catalysts. The target compound considered in this work is the primary metabolite of a lipid regulator drug, clofibrate, identified in many studies as refractory during conventional wastewater treatment. The photocatalytic performance study was carried out in batch mode at laboratory scale, in aqueous suspension. Kinetic data showed that titanium dioxide P25 Aeroxide® exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency compared to the other investigated catalysts. Pollutant degradation and mineralization efficiencies strongly increased when decreasing the initial substrate concentration. Target molecules oxidized faster when the catalyst load increased, and the mineralization was enhanced under acidic conditions: 92% of mineralization was achieved at pH 4 after 190 min of reaction. Radical quenching assays confirmed that HO• and ( h vb + ) were the reactive oxygen species involved in the photocatalytic oxidation of the considered pollutant. In addition, further results revealed that the removal efficiency decreased in real water matrices. Finally, data collected through a series of phytotoxicity tests demonstrated that the photocatalytic process considerably reduces the toxicity of the treated solutions, confirming the process’s effectiveness in the removal of persistent and biorefractory emergent organic water pollutants.
Highlights
In a global environmental context, the formulation of novel synthetic pharmaceuticals is sadly associated with their misuse
Our study provides an insight into the systematic evaluation of the photocatalytic kinetics under different operating conditions such as catalyst type, catalyst load, initial pollutant concentration, initial solution pH, and water matrix to enhance the degradation and mineralization degree of the target molecule, clofibric acid
We have investigated the photocatalytic activity of three commercial titanium dioxide catalysts (P25 Aeroxide®, Acros Organics, Geel, Belgium; Kronos uvlp 7500, Kronos Europe S.A./N.V., Ghent, Belgium; Cristal PC 500, Cristal, France SAS) to select the most efficient one for the removal of the target molecule
Summary
In a global environmental context, the formulation of novel synthetic pharmaceuticals is sadly associated with their misuse. These molecules are detected in water bodies, effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and even in drinking water in very low concentrations (low ppb levels); as a consequence, they are considered an important class of emergent water pollutants [1,2,3,4]. Clofibric acid (CA) represents this class of molecules, as well as ibuprofen, diclofenac, ketoprofen, or acetylsalicylic acid It is the first active metabolite of clofibrate and the active principle of blood lipid regulators, sharing a common functional group (i.e., carboxyl group) and similar pKa with acidic drugs [1]. According to the present European legislation on the classification and labeling of chemicals (92/32/EEC), CA has been reported to be a nonhazardous substance
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