Abstract
Diclofenac (DCF) is one of the most detected pharmaceuticals in environmental water matrices and is known to be recalcitrant to conventional wastewater treatment plants. In this study, degradation of DCF was performed in water by photolysis and photocatalysis using a new synthetized photocatalyst based on hydroxyapatite and TiO2 (HApTi). A degradation of 95% of the target compound was achieved in 24 h by a photocatalytic treatment employing the HApTi catalyst in comparison to only 60% removal by the photolytic process. The investigation of photo-transformation products was performed by means of UPLC-QTOF/MS/MS, and for 14 detected compounds in samples collected during treatment with HApTi, the chemical structure was proposed. The determination of transformation product (TP) toxicity was performed by using different assays: Daphnia magna acute toxicity test, Toxi-ChromoTest, and Lactuca sativa and Solanum lycopersicum germination inhibition test. Overall, the toxicity of the samples obtained from the photocatalytic experiment with HApTi decreased at the end of the treatment, showing the potential applicability of the catalyst for the removal of diclofenac and the detoxification of water matrices.
Highlights
The most common wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) used worldwide are mainly based on the activated sludge technique and are not able to remove and/or degrade several families of trace compounds, known as “contaminants of emerging concern” (CECs)
Both trace compounds and their relative transformation product (TP) have been found in different environmental compartments, including WWTP effluent, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, soil, sediments, and sludge, and their concentration ranged from μg L−1 to ng L−1
The present investigation demonstrated the effectiveness of the novel multiphasic The present investigation demonstrated the effectiveness of the novel multiphasic hydroxyapatite–TiO2 material for the photocatalytic treatment of diclofenac
Summary
The most common wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) used worldwide are mainly based on the activated sludge technique and are not able to remove and/or degrade several families of trace compounds, known as “contaminants of emerging concern” (CECs). Several toxicological and ecotoxicological studies have been performed to obtain an overview of the risk assessment of TPs detected in waters and wastewaters [7,8,9]. Both trace compounds and their relative TPs have been found in different environmental compartments, including WWTP effluent, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, soil, sediments, and sludge, and their concentration ranged from μg L−1 to ng L−1. CECs are not regulated, but the relevance of addressing this issue was acknowledged by the Directive 2013/39/EU listing priority substances and further supported by the implementation of Decision (EU) 2015/495 [10]
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