Pharmaceutical Effluent Research Articles

Mixed coagulant-flocculant optimization for pharmaceutical effluent pretreatment using response surface methodology and Gaussian process regression

Wastewater from the Antibiotical-Saidal pharmaceutical plant (Medéa) was pretreated by coagulation-flocculation using copper sulfate (CuSO4), iron chloride (FeCl3), and mixture of the two salts combined in a 1:1 (v/v) ratio in the present study. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize pH and coagulant dosage as independent variables, while dissolved organic carbon (DOC), absorbance at 254 nm (UV 254), and turbidity were provided as dependent variables in the central composite design (CCD). Then, the databases of the three treatments were combined in a single database to create a general model valid for the three treatments at the same time, and to predict the reduction rates of DOC, UV254, and turbidity, using the Gaussian process regression coupled with the dragonfly optimization algorithm (GPR-DA). To have the best model obtained between RMS and GPR-DA, an experimental validation was carried out after having had the optimal conditions of each type of coagulant, using the multi-objective optimization technique. The results of the experimental validation show the superiority of the GPR-DA model compared to the RSM model. Also, the results show that the mixed coagulant (CuSO4 + FeCl3) obtain better results than CuSO4 or FeCl3 alone with a treatment efficiency equal to 92.68% at pH = 5 and dosage = 600 mg/L, and the reductions in DOC, UV 254 and turbidity are 97.32%, 82.90% and 96.47%, respectively.

Supramolecular enzymatic membranes comprising of β-cyclodextrin and laccase for efficient removal and desalination of small molecules

Nanofiltration (NF) is regarded as a great potential technique for efficient treatment of industrial dyes and pharmaceutical effluents, however, its application still faces the challenges due to the trade-off among permeance, selectivity and anti-fouling property. Herein, a novel supramolecular enzymatic membrane was designed and successfully fabricated based on β-cyclodextrin (CD) and laccase (Lac), with the former providing supramolecular transport channels and the latter offering the pollutant degradation property. Specifically, after the host-guest complexation of CD with polyethylene glycol (PEG), the generated CD@PEG supramolecules were introduced into interfacial polymerization (IP) via reacting with terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) to fabricate supramolecular membrane with “bead-like” channels. Furthermore, the laccase was immobilized onto the modified polysulfone (mPSf) surface to generate CD@PEG@Lac-TPC/mPSf supramolecular enzymatic membrane for high-efficiency catalytic degradation of membrane foulants. The CD@PEG-TPC/mPSf supramolecular membrane displayed excellent performance and operation stability for removal and desalination of small molecules, with pure water permeance up to 26.8 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1, and satisfactory NaCl/dye and NaCl/medicine separation factors. Moreover, CD@PEG@Lac-TPC/mPSf supramolecular enzymatic membrane showed an effective anti-fouling property with only 8.0 % permeance decline rate after 24 h continuous separation of tetracycline hydrochloride solution, suggesting its potential application for removal and desalination of small molecules.

Removal of Amoxicillin from Processing Wastewater by Ozonation and UV-Aided Ozonation: Kinetic and Economic Comparative Study

This work presents an empirical and scaling-up study of the degradation and mineralization of amoxicillin (AMX) from expired pharmaceutical formulations by O3-based processes. A set of UV–ozone-based experiments was used to model the kinetics of AMX degradation, considering several chemical/photochemical mechanisms (hydrolysis, direct ozonation, radical reactions, and photolysis). Finally, the modeling data were used for scaling-up purposes, considering CAPEX and OPEX costs on the US Gulf Coast basis. In terms of experimental results, the amoxicillin (AMX) pharmaceutical effluent was successfully degraded by ozone technology at high pH values. The semi-batch ozonation process was effective after 60 min of treatment in all experimental conditions, producing degradation intermediates recalcitrant to O3 oxidative process. From the bench-scale kinetics, scaling-up simulations indicate that the gain provided by adding a UV unit does not compensate for the increase in capital and operational costs of adding irradiation equipment. It suggests ozonation at high pH as the best cost-effective approach to degrade AMX. The figures-of-merit electric energy consumption per order (EEO) corroborates the scaling-up simulations. EEO results indicate no-UV ozonation as the best option to degrade AMX at high pH values. The EEO of the present work showed a lower energy consumption system than previous papers from the literature.

Low Pressure UV Photolysis of the Pharmaceutical Compounds Acetaminophen, Atenolol, Bezafibrate, Diclofenac and Ibuprofen

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) are continuously introduced into the environment by human and livestock excretion, hospital sewage and pharmaceutical effluents. While the performance of UV photolysis regarding PhACs degradation may be limited by low quantum yields, it may be efficient when the contaminants significantly absorb UV radiation. In this work, the direct photolysis under 254 nm UVC radiation of acetaminophen (ACT), atenolol (ATL), bezafibrate (BZF), diclofenac (DIC) and ibuprofen (IBU), isolated and in mixture, was investigated. The results showed that PhAC photolysis followed apparent first-order kinetics, with removals ranging from 32% to 99% after 60 min, while all the compounds exhibited lower photolysis rates when mixed in solution. Less than 13% mineralization was achieved. The toxicity of irradiated solutions of Vibrio fischeri remained the same or slightly decreased for ATL, BZF and IBU, increased for ACT, and notably decreased for DIC; nevertheless, the solution of mixed PhACs became very toxic following irradiation, showing the need for oxidant addition for removing residual toxicity.

Combined ultrasound cavitation and persulfate for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater.

In recent years industrialization has caused magnificent leaps in the high profitable growth of pharmaceutical industries, and simultaneously given rise to environmental pollution. Pharmaceutical processes like extraction, purification, formulation, etc., generate a large volume of wastewater that contains high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand, auxiliary chemicals, and different pharmaceutical substances or their metabolites in their active or inactive form. Its metabolites impart non-biodegradable toxic pollutants as a byproduct and intense color, which increases ecotoxicity into the water, thus this requires proper treatment before being discharged. This study focuses on the feasibility analysis of the utilization of ultrasound cavitation (20 kHz frequency) together with a persulfate oxidation approach for the treatment of complex pharmaceutical effluent. Process parameters like pH, amplitude intensity, oxidant dosage were optimized for COD removal applying response surface methodology-based Box-Behnken design. The optimum value observed for pH, amplitude intensity and oxidant dosage are 5, 20% and 100 mg/L respectively with 39.5% removal of COD in 60 min of fixed processing time. This study confirms that a combination of ultrasound cavitation and persulfate is a viable option for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater and can be used as an intensification technology in existing effluent treatment plants to achieve the highest amount of COD removal.

Low cost iron modified syzygium cumini l. Wood biochar for adsorptive removal of ciprofloxacin and doxycycline antibiotics from aqueous solution

• Iron Modified Syzygium Cumini L. Wood Biochar (ISCBC) as a sustainable adsorptive material for simultaneous removal of antibiotics. • ISCBC has a great potential towards regeneration and reusability. • Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis revealed surface area of 16.93 m 2 g −1 , with pore volume and pore sizes of 0.018 cm 3 g −1 and 42.30 Å, respectively. • Key mechanism for co-adsorption are H bonding, anion-exchange, complexation, electrostatic attraction and iron-π bonding. Antibiotic traces in household and industrial effluents have a harmful influence on the ecosystem as well as on human health. Antibiotic resistance in microorganisms arises because of inadequate antibiotic removal by conventional treatment processes. This study investigatesthe sorption of ciprofloxacin (CF) and doxycycline (DC) antibiotics, from an aqueousenvironment by modified wood biochar of commonly found tree species Syzygium cumini L. The elemental, porosity and functional group involvement have been studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The BET surface area was found to be 16.93 m 2 g −1 , pore volume and pore sizes were 0.018 cm 3 g −1 and 42.30 Å, respectively. The maximum percent of removal of antibiotics was found to be 96.23% and 96.90% for doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, respectively. The equilibrium data weretested for fit using Langmuir and Freundlich models. Inboth cases, the Langmuir model suited the data wellwitha maximum adsorption capacity of 4.32 and 4.25 mg g −1 for doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, respectively. The data indicated the spontaneous and exothermic behavior of adsorption.Regeneration of the spent adsorbent up to ten cycles of continuous sorption followed by desorption showeda small decrease in sorption up to 3.55% for DC and 2.85% for CF. The biochar could be usedas an adsorbent for treating pharmaceutical effluents as well as municipal sewage wastewater.

Paracetamol biodegradation by Pseudomonas strain PrS10 isolated from pharmaceutical effluents

The production and consumption of paracetamol (4-acetaminophen), a common analgesic and antipyretic drug, had been increased substantially in recent years, elevating the risk of environmental exposure. As an emerging pollutant, this may affect different trophic levels irreversibly and persistently. In this current study, multiple bacterial strains were isolated from pharmaceutical industrial effluents based on paracetamol resistance and primarily screened by non-virulence. Strains PrS3 and PrS14 showed maximum bacterial growth using paracetamol as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. On the contrary, the highest %organic carbon removal efficiency was exhibited by PrS10. The isolates were identified as non-identical and related to the Pseudomonas genus by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The spectrometric assay indicated PrS10 with the highest paracetamol degradation potential (96.37% removal in 7 days), whereas the GC-MS study confirmed 92.35% paracetamol degradation efficiency. The influence of different carbohydrates on paracetamol degradation indicated a competition between monosaccharide and paracetamol as an energy source for PrS10 and reduced degradation efficiency. Further, HR-MS analysis indicated both cell surface absorption as well as the internalization of paracetamol by PrS10. This study explored a probable biodegradation and bioremediation technique for paracetamol contaminants which could be integrated with the effluent treatment of paracetamol production.

Effects of Pharmaceutical Effluents on Soil Microbiome and Physicochemical Parameters

Soil contamination from pharmaceuticals is an evolving issue, consequently measurable data on their microbial effects are deficient. Thus, this study investigated the effects of pharmaceutical effluents on soil microbiome and the physicochemical parameters of soil samples obtained from Ugbowo, Benin City, Nigeria using standard procedures. The experiment which lasted for four weeks consists of four treatments of soil samples with pharmaceutical effluents of different percentages and one soil sample without pharmaceutical effluents (control). These include: soil treated with 250 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (25%); soil treated with 500 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (50%); soil treated with 750 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (75%), soil treated with 1000 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (100%) and soil treated without pharmaceutical effluents (0%). There was significant increase in the soil microbial counts in all effluent treatments compared to the control soil. A total of 16 isolates were identified. Ten were isolates belonging to the genera Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Streptococcus, and Chromobacterium, while Fusarium sp., Mucor sp., Saccharomyces sp., Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp. and Penicillium sp. were the observed fungal isolates. The mean values of the soil physicochemical properties were all significantly higher in the treated groups compared to the control. This study revealed that pharmaceutical effluents altered the soil microbiological and physicochemical properties. The possibility of these alterations was due to the high nutrient content of the effluent which enriched the soil with additional nutrients needed for microbial growth.

Pharmaceutical Effluent Treatment Using Multi-effect Evaporator Process

The disposal practices of pharmaceutical-generated pollutants have become a serious threat to mankind’s health, safety, and environmental concerns. Pharmaceutically polluted effluents have been demonstrated as endocrine disruptors which mimic growth hormones when consumed at nG/L to mG/L concentrations. The production stages utilize both organic and inorganic compounds, which contribute to chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total dissolved solids (TDS) heavily. Conventional technologies have failed to accomplish zero liquid minimization. To achieve zero minimization, it is necessary to develop modernization techniques in effluent treatment streams. A novel technique to recover solids and organic matter removals as well as zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) flash mixer, stripping, and multi-effect evaporator (MEE) processes is employed. Flash mixing is a pre-treatment stage, and stripping enables solvent reclamation. The multi-effect evaporators involve heat transfer equipment mainly used for volume reduction and cutting down on waste handling costs. The multi-effect evaporator not only is able to eliminate pharmaceutical xenobiotics but also requires pre-treatments such as flash mixture and stripping column sections. Thus, this research emphasizes efficiently removing high total dissolved solids (HTDS) and high chemical oxygen demand (HCOD) from pharmaceutical effluent. The removal efficiency was found to be 85% for TDS and TSS, 93% for BOD, and 81% for COD, which is more than the conventional mode of treatment.

Visible active clay based Sm2(WO4)3 nanocomposite for drug removal in pharmaceutical effluents

Antibacterial drug ofloxacin of fluoroquinolone family is identified in domestic sewage treatment plant, pharmaceutical and hospital effluents. Fluoroquinolones are toxic to the living organism and pollute the environment. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is found to be more efficient in degrading pharmaceutical compounds, and in particular clay-based photocatalysts are focused in recent research. Present study is oriented towards the preparation of a clay-based samarium tungstate Sm2(WO4)3 nanocomposite by hydrothermal-sonication process using locally obtained natural clay (NC). XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HRTEM, EDS, UV–Vis and PL spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the properties of NCSm2(WO4)3. XRD data confirmed pristine monoclinic phase of Sm2(WO4)3 in NCSm2(WO4)3. The FT-IR of NCSm2(WO4)3 displayed the characteristic groups of Sm2(WO4)3 as well as that of natural clay. The band gap energies of Sm2(WO4)3, NCSm2(WO4)3 are 3.02 and 2.8 eV respectively. SEM images indicate the impregnation of Sm2(WO4)3 spherical particles on the surface of clay nanoflakes giving a heterostructure morphology. SAED pattern of HRTEM revealed the good crystalline nature of the nanocomposite. NCSm2(WO4)3 was able to degrade ofloxacin (OFX) and ibuprofen (IBP) almost completely in 80 min of visible light illumination. NCSm2(WO4)3 has excellent stability, and recyclability in drug degradation. Eight fold increase in BET surface area of NCSm2(WO4)3 relative to Sm2(WO4)3 and decrease in band gap energy make NCSm2(WO4)3 suitable for the industrial effluent treatment.

Fabrication of high visible light active LaFeO3/Cl-g-C3N4/RGO heterojunction for solar assisted photo-degradation of aceclofenac

The designing of semiconductor based heterojunction has proved to be an effective strategy for developing more efficient photo-catalyst than single component photo-catalyst. Herein, we report the laboratory scale fabrication of a novel LaFeO3/Cl-g-C3N4/RGO (LCCR) heterojunction with enormous photocatalytic activity. The prepared nano-composite has been characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The LaFeO3/Cl-g-C3N4/RGO (LCCR) nano-heterojunction exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity due to its reduced charge recombination rate. The photocatalytic potential of LCCR was tested for the photo degradation of aceclofenac drug as model pollutant. LCCR with an optimum dosage amount 200 mgL−1 has shown highest degradation of 96.4 % within 90 min of solar light exposure. Various operational parameters such as effect of pH, photocatalyst dosage, pollutant concentration and various ions has been investigated. The photo-degradation outcomes of LCCR nano-composite have been examined in terms of reaction kinetics, active radical identification experiments, high resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. The photo-degradation experiment followed the pseudo first order kinetics with high rate constant k1 = 0.0461 min−1 and results for TOC and COD analysis shows that 53.2 % of TOC was removed, whereas COD was decreased to 22.4 %. This work shows promising photo-catalyst for treating pharmaceutical effluents.

Carbon quantum dots embedded trimetallic oxide: Characterization and photocatalytic degradation of Ofloxacin

The presence of highly toxic pharmaceutical effluents in the water system has emerged the need for the examination of various methods that could be used for their removal. Considering this, in the present study, we have designed a highly visible- light active trimetallic oxide nanocomposite, CQDs@CoO/La2O3/NiO TONCs using facile microwave reduction technique. Its photocatalytic efficiency was tested for the degradation of highly noxious ofloxacin (OFL) antibiotic from the aqueous solution. Maximum degradation rate of 93.8% was obtained within 75 min with 20 mg of photocatalyst dose and 20 mg/L of initial OFL concentration. The addition of CQDs to the trimetallic oxide nanoparticles helped in enhancing the light- harvesting ability of the composite and shifting it to the visible- region. Major reactive radical species involved in the OFL degradation were found to be •OH and •O2− radicals. In addition, a probable degradation mechanism was also established based the scavenging and band gap studies. The charge transfer study indicated the formation of dual Z- scheme between the 3 constituting units that helped immensely in reducing the charge recombination rate and improving the charge transfer rate.

Nickel ions modified Co[sbnd]Mg nanophotocatalysts for solar light-driven degradation of antimicrobial pharmaceutical effluents

Unutilized pharmaceutical antibiotics and waste have become a severe hazard to human health and aquatic life due to their carcinogenic, mutagenic, and poisonous properties. Nickel modified CoMg magnetic nanophotocatalysts with a chemical composition of Co0.65Mg0.35-xNixFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03) were fabricated by sol-gel auto-combustion approach. The prepared nanoparticles (NPs) were used for solar light-driven photodegradation of amoxicillin pharmaceutical effluent. XRD diffraction patterns data identify the spinel cubic-like structures with Fd3m symmetry. No different phases were seen within XRD patterns of prepared magnetic NPs. FESEM confirms the formation of agglomerated and spherical NPs with an average grain size of 349 and 351 nm for unmodified (S1) and modified (S3) samples, respectively. The TEM investigation analyzed the particle size distribution, which shows the formation of aggregated and spherical NPs with an average particle size of 32 nm for the S1 specimen. FTIR spectra reported stretching vibrations within the metal‑oxygen complexes at the interstitial sites. The photocatalytic efficiency of synthesized nanoferrites was utilized to degrade the pharmaceutical amoxicillin effluent. The prepared nickel-modified nanophotocatalyst (S4) shows a maximum degradation efficiency of 95.05% with a rate constant of 0.0204 min−1. Synthesized nanophotocatalysts work as an excellent antibacterial agent against the Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis bacteria extensively, demonstrating that the S4 specimen showed the highest zone of inhibition against the Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In contrast, both the S3 and S4 specimens showed a maximum zone of inhibition against the Bacillus subtilis compared to other NPs.

Hardwood spent mushroom substrate–based activated biochar as a sustainable bioresource for removal of emerging pollutants from wastewater

Hardwood spent mushroom substrate was employed as a carbon precursor to prepare activated biochars using phosphoric acid (H3PO4) as chemical activator. The activation process was carried out using an impregnation ratio of 1 precursor:2 H3PO4; pyrolysis temperatures of 700, 800, and 900 °C; heating rate of 10 °C min−1; and treatment time of 1 h. The specific surface area (SSA) of the biochars reached 975, 1031, and 1215 m2 g−1 for the samples pyrolyzed at 700, 800, and 900 °C, respectively. The percentage of mesopores in their structures was 75.4%, 78.5%, and 82.3% for the samples pyrolyzed at 700, 800, and 900 °C, respectively. Chemical characterization of the biochars indicated disordered carbon structures with the presence of oxygen and phosphorous functional groups on their surfaces. The biochars were successfully tested to adsorb acetaminophen and treat two simulated pharmaceutical effluents composed of organic and inorganic compounds. The kinetic data from adsorption of acetaminophen were fitted to the Avrami fractional-order model, and the equilibrium data was well represented by the Liu isotherm model, attaining a maximum adsorption capacity of 236.8 mg g−1 for the biochar produced at 900 °C. The adsorption process suggests that the pore-filling mechanism mainly dominates the acetaminophen removal, although van der Walls forces are also involved. The biochar produced at 900 °C removed up to 84.7% of the contaminants in the simulated effluents. Regeneration tests using 0.1 M NaOH + 20% EtOH as eluent showed that the biochars could be reused; however, the adsorption capacity was reduced by approximately 50% after three adsorption–desorption cycles.

Impact of pharmaceutical industry effluent on seed germination and seedling growth of some common crops of Bangladesh

This project was carried out to investigate the effect of pharmaceutical industry effluents on seed germination and seedling growth of some common cultivated crops of Bangladesh. Four varieties of crops such as Okra, Data shak, Ridge gourd, and Black mustard were selected to grow in this effluent. Concentrations used for the effluents in terms of seed germinations were 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% respectively. The optimum condition of seed germination obtained for Okra, Data shak and Ridge gourd were 25%, 100% and 50% respectively. However, in terms of Black mustard the germination percentage was same in all condition. At lower dilutions the crops exhibited favorable effect on seed germination, seedling growth, shoot length and root length. Among all 100% concentrations of the effluent caused inhibitory effect in terms of all crops except Black mustard. Based on the present investigations, it can be concluded that pharmaceutical effluent which is discharging as waste can be used for irrigation purpose, after proper dilution. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 57(1), 15-22, 2022

Use of Sugar Cane Bagasse as Solid Extraction Phase Sorbent to Analyze Hormones from Industrial Effluent

Sugar cane bagasse (SCB) is an abundant byproduct of sugar and bioethanol mills. It has been effectively used as a low-cost biosorbent to remove hazardous chemical compounds from a variety of effluent sources. Herein, we report on the preparation of SCB and its use as a solid phase extraction (SPE) sorbent to retain synthetic hormones (ethinylestradiol, drospirenone, and levonorgestrel) from industrial pharmaceutical plant effluent samples prior to LC–MS/MS quantitative analysis. We evaluated the reproducibility and recoveries and accuracy data analyses were compared with that of commercial SPE (cSPE) cartridges. The results from the evaluated parameters indicated that the SCB bed had an efficiency of >99%, comparable to that of cSPE cartridges, demonstrating the applicability and feasibility of this material as an effective and green chemistry alternative, as well as its biosorbent potential to remove hormones from industrial pharmaceutical effluent.

Pristine and activated bentonite for toxic metal removal from wastewater

AbstractNatural bentonite clay (NBC) was activated using nitric acid (HNO3). Characterization techniques including FTIR, SEM, XRD and BET were employed to examine the morphology of NBC and ABC (activated bentonite clay) sorbents. Comparative application of ABC and NBC to remove heavy metals (Fe2+, Zn2+, Ni2+) from pharmaceutical effluents was investigated under various experimental conditions. The maximum proportional removal by ABC was 88.90, 81.80 and 75.50% at pH 8, and 63.90, 59.60, 58.70% at pH 10 for NBC, both for Zn2+, Fe2+ and Ni2+ respectively. The Freundlich multilayer adsorption model and pseudo-second-order kinetics best fit the experimental data, suggesting the formation of multiple adsorption layers via strong ionic and electrostatic interactions. Heavy metals adsorption is more favorable with ABC than NBC, due to the availability of more sorption sites and a larger specific surface. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG°) revealed that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous in nature for both ABC and NBC.

Construction of SnO2/g-C3N4 an effective nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin and pharmaceutical effluent

The current study mainly focused on the fabrication of 2D graphitic carbon nitride-supported tin oxide nanoparticles (SnO2/g-C3N4) for the effective degradation of Amoxicillin (AMX). Tin oxide (SnO2) NPs were prepared by green and easy modification technique, and then it is decorated over g-C3N4 nanosheets. The structural morphology and surface composition of the synthesized SnO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite were fully analysed by UV–Vis, XRD, XPS, and HR-SEM with EDAX, FT-IR, and BET analysis. The (HR-TEM) microscopy, the size of SnO2 NPs which as a diameter is about 6.2 nm. The Raman analysis revealed that the SnO2/g-C3N4 composite had a moderate graphitic structure, with a measured ID/Ig value of 0.79. The degradation efficiency of antibiotic pollutant AMX and pharma effluent treatment was monitored by UV spectroscopy. The optical band gap of SnO2 (2.9 eV) and g-C3N4 (2.8 eV) photocatalyst was measured by Tauc plots. To investigate the mechanism through the photodegradation efficiency of the catalyst was analysed by using different Scavenger EDTA-2Na holes (h+) has a greater contribution towards the degradation process. Under visible irradiation, SnO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite has exhibited an excellent degradation performance of 92.1% against AMX and 90.8% for pharmaceutical effluent in 80 min.

Removal of hydrochlorothiazide micropollutant from synthetic pharmaceutical effluent by ionic flocculation

Emerging pollutants (EPs) have recently been reported to affect the quality of water and pose high risks to human health. The recalcitrant behavior of the drug hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in wastewater, for example, highlights the need to develop new treatments that are more efficient in removing this pollutant. In this study, the removal of hydrochlorothiazide from a synthetic pharmaceutical effluent through micellar ionic flocculation was evaluated, using a biodegradable anionic surfactant, derived from natural materials such as coconut oil and animal fat. The effects of different parameters, such as contact time, stirring speed, temperature, surfactant concentration and pH on drug removal efficiency were assessed. Under optimal processing conditions: [HCT] = 20 ppm, [surfactant] = 300 ppm, 1:2 calcium/surfactant ratio, temperature 30 °C, contact time 5 min, fast stirring speed 100 rpm, slow stirring speed 50 rpm and pH 10, HCT removal efficiency reached 88%, indicating that ionic flocculation using base soap is a promising technique in the treatment of pharmaceutical effluents contaminated by hydrochlorothiazide. The desorption kinetics of HCT from the floc surface were also analyzed, confirming that desorption is governed by the pseudo-second order, where interactions between the polar group of the base soap (COOH−), Ca+2 ions and HCT (C7H8ClN3O4S2) detach the HCT molecules present in the flocs. Moreover, 15% of HCT was spontaneously desorbed after 40 min.

Treatment of Pharma Effluent using Anaerobic Packed Bed Reactor.

The treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using an appropriate technology has become so important. Anaerobic packed bed reactor is an efficient method for pharmaceutical effluent treatment because of the high organic content present in it. In this study, a heavy-polluted pharma effluent is treated using an anaerobic packed bed reactor. The performance of the anaerobic reactor was identified with respect to chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, methane yield, and gas production. The results showed that COD was reduced from 73% to 60% for an organic loading rate (OLR) of 0.6036–1.7487 kg COD m−3·d−1. As the OLR increases, the removal efficiency of COD decreases gradually to around 52% for an OLR of 2.34 kg COD m−3·d−1.