Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the removal efficiency of six phannaceuticals byphoto-degradation and the advanced oxidation process (AOP), UV/H2O2. The sixphannaceuticals were the four NSAIDs ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and ketoprofen, thepharmacological active metabolite of the lipid lowering agent, clofibrin, clofibric acid, and theanticonvulsant and mood stabilizing drug, carbamazepine.Treatment experiments were perfom1ed using a UV lamp optimized for photochemicaltreatment in a flow through set-up. For the AOP experiments 60 mg/L H2O2 was added to thewater before treatment. The treatment effectiveness is evaluated based on the ElectricalEnergy per Order (EEO) (unit kWh!m\ which is defined as the electrical energy consumedper unit volume of water treated required for 90% removal of the investigated compound.It was found that four of the six phannaceuticals were completely removed in tap water byboth UV treatment and the AOP. The exceptions were ibuprofen and carbamazepine, whichexhibited a relationship between UV dose and removal. The electrical energy per order, EEOwas detennined to 8.2 kWh/ml (UV) and 3. 7 kWh/ml (UV /H2O2 ) for ibuprofen.In the wastewater effluent the removal by UV irradiation was almost complete for ketoprofen,while the other compounds show dependency of flow rate/UV dose. Ibuprofen was thecompound that needed the highest UV dose to remove 90% (EEO = 33.4 kWh/ml) wherenaproxen and clofibric acid required 9.6 kWh/ml and 5.5 kWh/ml, respectively. Ketoprofenand diclofenac needed considerable less energy than clofibric acid. Ibuprofen and naproxen isbiodegradable and will be removed in biologically treated wastewater. Therefore, the relevantestimate of the needed treatment is the energy use for removal of clofibric acid which required5.5 kWh/ml for 90% removal.
Highlights
Few pharmaceuticals are not removed in conventional sewage treatment, among the most important of these in terms of high consumption volume are carbamazepine [I], clofibric acid [2] and diclofenac [I, 2]
The treatment effectiveness is evaluated based on the Electrical Energy per Order (EEO)
It is seen that I00 % removal is obtained for four of the drugs for both treatment methods and at the most of the EEO, Only at the lowest EEO, is the degradation of some of the compound not completely, There is no removal of carbamazepine when the tap water is exposed to the lowest UV dose without H 2O2
Summary
Few pharmaceuticals are not removed in conventional sewage treatment, among the most important of these in terms of high consumption volume are carbamazepine [I], clofibric acid [2] and diclofenac [I, 2]. It is known that the above mentioned three stable phannaceuticals can be photo-degraded in surface waters by sunlight [3, 4]. This is likely the most important ultimate fate of non bio-degradable and non-sorbing phannaceuticals. The six pharmaceuticals were the four non-steroidal-anti-intlamatory drugs: ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and ketoprofen, the pharmacological active metabolite of the lipid lowering agent, clofibrin, clofibric acid, and the anticonvulsant and mood stabilizing drug, carbamazepine
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