Removal Of Ibuprofen Research Articles

Removal of Ibuprofen and Diclofenac in Batch Nitrifying Reactors: Effect of Natural Zeolite on the Process

Ibuprofen (IBP) and diclofenac (DFC) are two of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat inflammation and pain. However, they can impact the environment if not treated adequately before discharge into waterways. Biodegradation through the nitrification process is an alternative to reducing the concentration of these micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of natural zeolite on IBP and DFC removal in a nitrifying batch reactor. Mini-reactors were set up with 90 mL of inoculum and 110 mL of synthetic wastewater with a concentration of 25 mg total ammonia nitrogen TAN/L, at 25 °C and 1 vvm (volume of air/volume liquid∙min) of aeration. Two conditions were tested: high concentrations (IBP = 700 μg/L, DFC = 100 μg/L) and low concentrations (IBP = 30 μg/L, DFC = 20 μg/L). The research used a concentration of 5 g/L of the natural zeolite. Results indicated that the zeolite negatively affected the nitrification rate. At high MPs concentration, the natural zeolite negatively affects the removal of IBP and DFC, where biodegradation and sorption are the mechanisms that eliminate both NSAIDs. Conversely, at low DFC and IBP concentrations, the natural zeolite improves the removal of IBP and DFC, wherein biodegradation is the primary removal mechanism.

Improving soil aquifer treatment efficiency using air injection into the subsurface

Abstract. Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is an effective and sustainable technology for wastewater or stormwater treatment, storage, and reuse. During SAT, the vadose zone acts as a pseudo-reactor in which physical and biochemical processes are utilized to improve the infiltrated-water quality. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is necessary for aerobic microbial oxidation of carbon and nitrogen species in the effluent. Therefore, to enhance aeration, SAT is generally operated in flooding and drying cycles. While long drying periods (DPs) lead to better oxidizing conditions and improve water quality, they reduce recharge volumes. As the population grows, the quantity of effluent directed to SAT sites increases, and increasing recharge volumes become a concern and often a limiting factor for SAT usage. In this study, direct subsurface air injection SAT (Air-SAT) was tested as an alternative to long-DP operation. Six long-column experiments were conducted (2 m column) that aimed to examine the effect of air injection on the soil's water content, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), DO concentrations, infiltrated amounts, and ultimate outflow quality. In addition to basic parameters, such as dissolved organic C (DOC) and N species, the effluent quality analysis also included an examination of three emerging water contaminants: ibuprofen, carbamazepine, and 1H-benzotriazole. Pulsed-air-injection experiments were conducted during continuous flooding using different operation modes (i.e., air pulse durations, frequencies, and airflow rates). Our results show that Air-SAT operation doubled the time during which infiltration was possible (i.e., the infiltration was continuous with no downtime) and allowed up to a 46 % higher mean infiltration rate in some cases. As a result, the infiltration volumes in the Air-SAT modes were 47 %–203 % higher than conventional flooding–drying operation (FDO). A longer air pulse duration (60 min vs. 8 min) and higher airflow rate (∼2 L min−1 vs. ∼1 L min−1) led to a higher mean infiltration rate, whereas a high pulse frequency (4.5 h−1) led to a lower mean infiltration rate compared with low-frequency operation (24 h−1). Air injection also allowed good recovery of the ORP and DO levels in the soil, especially in the high-frequency Air-SAT experiments, where steady aerobic conditions were maintained during most of the flooding. Consequently, the mean DOC, total Kjeldahl N (TKN), and ibuprofen removal values in these experiments were up to 9 %, 40 %, and 65 % higher than those with FDO, respectively. However, high-frequency Air-SAT during continuous flooding also led to significant deterioration of the mean infiltration rate, probably due to enhanced biological clogging. Hence, it may be more feasible and beneficial to combine it with conventional FDO, allowing a steady infiltration rate and increased recharge volumes while sustaining high effluent quality. While these results still need to be verified at full scale, they highlight the possibility of using air injection to minimize the DP length and alleviate the pressure on existing SAT sites.

Advanced Treatment of the Municipal Wastewater by Lab-Scale Hybrid Ultrafiltration

In this study, hybrid ultrafiltration which involves adsorption onto activated carbon and/or coagulation was tested for the removal of ibuprofen, caffeine and diclofenac from the municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent (c0 = 2–3 µg/L). Ultrafiltration was tested in combination with powdered activated carbon dose of 5 mg/L separately or with coagulants (FeCl3, dose 4 mg Fe (III)/L and, natural coagulant isolated from bean seeds, dose 33 µL/L). In addition to the removal of organic micropollutants, the removal of As, Cr, Cu and Zn was also tested (c0~100 µg/L). The research was conducted on a laboratory pilot plant (capacity 30 L/h, in-out dead-end filtration, flux of 80 L/m2h). The best results were obtained for caffeine when adsorption on PAC is combined with a FeCl3 (removal efficiency 42–87%). The addition of a natural coagulant did not show benefits for the removal of organic micropollutants compared to the other tested processes, but both coagulants had similar effects on the content of metals and As Hybrid membrane processes proved to be the most efficient for Zn (44–87%) and Cr (33–87%) removal. The lowest efficiency was determined for As (˂19%). Ultrafiltration with PAC and coagulants removed 5–33% of effluent organic matter, depending on the type of coagulant; 57–87% of total nitrogen and PAC/FeCl3/UF was also partially effective for removing total phosphorus (11–39%).

Adsorption of ibuprofen from aqueous solution onto a raw and steam-activated biochar derived from recycled textiles insulation panels at end-of-life: Kinetic, isotherm and fixed-bed experiments

This study explores the potential use of recycled textile biochar (RT-BC) and steam-activated biochar (RT-SABC), derived from insulation panels at end-of-life, as sorbents for removing ibuprofen from aqueous solutions. After steam activation, the surface area and micropore volume increased. Subsequently, kinetic and isotherm experiments were investigated at 20 °C, 200 rpm and 50 mg/L ibuprofen solution. Equilibrium was reached after 24 h for RT-BC and 120 h for RT-SABC. The kinetics of RT-BC and RT-SABC followed the pseudo-first-order and Elovich models, respectively. RT-SABC isotherm showed the highest adsorption capacity (53.9 mg g−1), well-fitted into the Sips model. Ibuprofen uptake by RT-SABC was nearly irreversible. Afterward, RT-SABC dynamic performance was evaluated in a fixed-bed column for three bed heights. The breakthrough point (41.7–476.7 h), the volume of effluent treated (0.6–6.4 L at breakthrough) and adsorption capacity (22.09–39.81 mg g−1) increased with bed height (10–30 cm). Thomas and Clark's models simulated the experimental points, confirming second-order kinetics and Sips isotherm. Different functional groups were involved in the adsorption mechanism. Preliminary experiments in tap water on RT-SABC showed a removal (>83 %) due to ionic strength and reduced pH. Therefore, RT-SABC could be an efficient adsorbent for ibuprofen removal from aqueous systems.

Adsorption of ibuprofen using waste coffee derived carbon architecture: Experimental, kinetic modeling, statistical and bio-inspired optimization

Pharmaceuticals in water are a growing environmental concern, as they can harm aquatic life and human health. To address this issue, an adsorbent made from coffee waste that effectively removes ibuprofen (a common pharmaceutical pollutant) from wastewater was developed. The experimental adsorption phase was planned using a Design of Experiments approach with Box–Behnken strategy. The relation between the ibuprofen removal efficiency and various independent variables, including adsorbent weight (0.01–0.1 g) and pH (3–9), was evaluated via a regression model with 3-level and 4-factors using the Response surface methodology (RSM) . The optimal ibuprofen removal was achieved after 15 min using 0.1 g adsorbent at 32.4 °C and pH = 6.9.Moreover, the process was optimized using two powerful bio-inspired metaheuristics (Bacterial Foraging Optimization and Virus Optimization Algorithm). The adsorption kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamics of ibuprofen onto waste coffee-derived activated carbon were modeled at the identified optimal conditions. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were implemented to investigate adsorption equilibrium, and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated. According to the Langmuir isotherm model, the adsorbent's maximum adsorption capacity was 350.00 mg g-1 at 35 °C. The findings revealed that the ibuprofen adsorption was well-matched with the Freundlich isotherm model, indicating multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous sites. The computed positive enthalpy value showed the endothermic nature of ibuprofen adsorption at the adsorbate interface.

Dissolving Activated Carbon Pellets for Ibuprofen Removal at Point-of-Entry

The increased usage of pharmaceuticals coupled with the desire for greywater reuse to reduce the freshwater demand for potable water requires a user-friendly engineered solution. Activated carbon is a proven technology that is typically used for organic pollutant removal at water treatment plants. Lignite, coconut, and a blend of activated carbon powders were used to develop rapid-dissolving pellets with an inorganic binder. Ibuprofen was the model compound chosen for pharmaceutical adsorption in deionized water and synthetic hydrolyzed and synthetic fresh urine at rapid contact times (0.5 to 30 min) and using various pellet dosages (0.5 to 10 g/L). A cost analysis was performed to determine the feasibility of the engineered solution. With an increase in contact time, the coconut pellets outperformed both the blend and lignite pellets in deionized water at a set pellet dosage. The lignite pellets were the most cost-effective with rapid adsorption in fresh urine and a capacity of 0.089 g ibuprofen/g pellet. Additional optimization parameters include pellet dissolvability, pellet dosage in relation to different pharmaceuticals, and the impact of activated carbon on the household sewage system, and each of these are necessary to determine application feasibility.

Adsorption of Ibuprofen as a pharmaceutical pollutant from aqueous phase using zinc oxide nanoparticles: Green synthesis, batch adsorption and biological activities.

Recent interest has focused on the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles, particularly from plants. The production of precipitate served as an early indicator of the presence in the present study's use of ZnO nanoparticles green synthesis of these particles, which was further validated by; Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally, the BET was used to calculate the surface area, which came out to be 119.12 m2 /g. Since the true effects of new pollutants, including medicines, on the environment and human health are not well understood, their presence in aquatic systems poses a severe hazard. For this reason, the antibiotic Ibuprofen (IBP) was absorbable to ZnO-NPs in this search. As opposed to fitting to Langmuir isothermally, the adsorption process was discovered to be pseudo-second-order kinetically, and the reaction was determined to be a chemisorption process. The process was endothermic and spontaneous, according to thermodynamic studies. Maximizing IBP removal from aqueous solution required the use of a Box-Behnken surface statistical design with four components, four levels, and response surface modelling. Solution pH, IBP concentration, duration, and dose were the four parameters that were utilized. The regeneration process, which is employed for five cycles with excellent efficiency, is the best benefit of using ZnO-NPs. Examine the elimination of pollutants from actual samples as well. However, the adsorbent is quite effective at reducing biological activity. At high concentrations of ZnO-NPs demonstrated notable antioxidant activity and RBC hemocompatibility and no discernible hemolysis was seen. ZnO-NPs demonstrated a notable percent suppression of α-amylase up to 53.6 % at 400 μg/mL, and so displayed potential as an antidiabetic. Cyclooxygenase was suppressed by ZnO-NPs in an anti-inflammatory test (COX-1 & COX-2) up to 56.32 and 52.04 % at a concentration of 400 μg/mL, respectively. Significant anti-Alzheimer potential was demonstrated by ZnO-NPs at 400 μg/mL by inhibiting Acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) and Butyl cholinesterase (BChE) up to 68.98 ± 1.62% and 62.36% respectively. We came to the conclusion that guava extract is helpful for ZnO-NP reduction and capping. The bioengineered nanoparticles could prevent Alzheimer's, diabetes, and inflammation and were biocompatible. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

In-situ hydrogen peroxide formation and persulfate activation over banana peel-derived biochar cathode for electrochemical water treatment in a flow reactor

Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) are effective for the removal of organic contaminants from groundwater. The choice of an affordable cathode material that can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) will increase practicality and cost effectiveness of EAOPs. Carbon enriched biochar (BC), which is derived from pyrolysis of biomass, has emerged as an inexpensive and environmentally-friendly electrocatalyst for removing contaminants from groundwater. In this study, a banana peel-derived biochar (BP-BC) cathode packed in a stainless steel (SS) mesh was used in a continuous flow reactor to degrade the ibuprofen (IBP), as a model contaminant. The BP-BC cathodes generate H2O2 via a 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction, initiate the H2O2 decomposition to generate •OH, adsorb IBP from contaminated water, and oxidize IBP by formed •OH. Various reaction parameters such as pyrolysis temperature and time, BP mass, current, and flow rate, were optimized to maximize IBP removal. Initial experiments showed that H2O2 generation was limited (∼3.4 mg mL−1), resulting in only ∼ 40% IBP degradation, due to insufficient surface functionalities on the BP-BC surface. The addition of persulfate (PS) into the continuous flow system significantly improves the IBP removal efficiency via PS activation. The in-situ H2O2 formation and PS activation over BP-BC cathode results in concurrent generation of •OH and sulfate anion radicals (SO4•−, a reactive oxidant), respectively, which collectively achieve ∼ 100% IBP degradation. Further experiments with methanol and tertiary butanol as potential scavengers for •OH and SO4•− confirm their combined role in complete IBP degradation.

Hybrid system coupling ozonation and nanofiltration with functionalized catalytic ceramic membrane for ibuprofen removal

The investigations on the removal of ibuprofen (IBU) in a hybrid system coupling ozonation and nanofiltration with functionalized catalytic ceramic membrane are presented. The gaseous ozone into feed water in concentration of 11 g Nm−3 was supplied. Positive influence of catalytic ozonation on ibuprofen decomposition was observed. The application of catalytic nanofiltration membrane led to the ibuprofen removal of 91% after the first 15 min from the beginning of the O3/NF process, while at the same time, for the pristine membrane, it was equal to 76%. The investigations revealed incomplete degradation of drug under pH 3 after 2 h, i.e., 89%. On the other hand, the addition of inorganic salts did not affect the catalytic ibuprofen removal efficiency. Under acidic pH, the highest permeate flux decline (26%) was noted, whereas no differences between permeate flux measured under natural and alkaline conditions were observed. During the treatment process, three IBU by-products were detected, which significantly affected the permeate toxicity; however, after 2 h of catalytic nanofiltration, the product of treatment process was found as non-toxic.

Removal of low concentration ibuprofen using green diluent and novel formulated supported ionic liquid membrane

Removal of pharmaceutical micropollutants is critical to reduce detrimental contaminants found in the environment. The current study focuses on developing a new formulation of supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) for removing low concentration of ibuprofen (IBP) using green diluent and ionic liquid. Parameters such as solid support properties, variation of diluents, type of carrier and carrier concentration are investigated. The results demonstrate that liquid carrier consisted of sunflower oil (SFO) and Aliquat 336 successfully impregnated on the PVDF support via FTIR and SEM analysis. Liquid carrier loss from the PVDF support is less than 1% by impregnating green diluents consisting of SFO. 18PVDF-DMAC/300 is selected owing to its asymmetric finger-like and spongy structure with porosity, mean pore diameter, contact angle and thickness of (82.2 ± 0.7) %, (0.19 ± 0.01) μm, (89.4 ± 0.2)° and (90.3 ± 0.8) μm, respectively. Under 72-hour operation, a maximum extraction and stripping efficiency are obtained at 93% and 87% respectively, indicating a stable SILM process. Results obtained suggest that the newly formulated SILM is advantageous and may be used to extract low concentrations of IBP from the feed phase.

Renewable terpene-based highly porous polymer monoliths for the effective removal of persistent pharmaceuticals of tetracycline and ibuprofen

Adsorptive removal of residual pharmaceuticals from wastewater has become an important issue from an environmental aspect. Macroporous polymer-based monoliths are being used as efficient adsorbents to remove such toxic materials. Regarding this, the ease of preparation, sustainability and low production cost are the most demanded properties from polymer-based monoliths. This work describes the synthesis of the first sustainable β-myrcene (My) and d-limonene (Lim) derived adsorbents by free radical copolymerization crosslinking in water-in-oil (w/o) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). To demonstrate the influence of purification and drying steps on the pore morphology of the monoliths, the samples were either vacuum dried (PMLE-E) or freeze-dried (PMLE-L). Characterization tests indicated that the specific surface area of the PMLE-E monolith (64.71 m2/g) was much higher than that of PMLE-L monolith (19.38 m2/g), which was attributed to the abundant pore throats. The adsorption efficiencies of the monoliths were investigated towards removal of tetracycline (TC) and ibuprofen (IBU) from aqueous solution. The effects of solution pH, contact time, and temperature on the adsorption were investigated and the experimental data fitted to isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic models. The maximum TC and IBU adsorption capacities were found as 23.8 mg/g and 10.6 mg/g over PMLE-E adsorbent, respectively. The highest TC removal (95%) was achieved within 30 min by using PMLE-E monolith, which was ascribed to its more permeable porous structure as well as higher surface area, boosting diffusion rate of antibiotic molecules. In the reusability tests, the PMLE-E adsorbent exhibited higher performance than PMLE-L sample after eight adsorption-desorption cycles. The polymer monoliths also exhibited considerable adsorption efficiencies towards different kinds of dye molecules, demonstrating their effectiveness in the removal of water pollutants.

Ionic Liquid-Based Green Emulsion Liquid Membrane for the Extraction of the Poorly Soluble Drug Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen (Ibf) is a biologically active drug (BADs) and an emerging contaminant of concern (CECs) in aqueous streams. Due to its adverse effects upon aquatic organisms and humans, the removal and recovery of Ibf are essential. Usually, conventional solvents are employed for the separation and recovery of ibuprofen. Due to environmental limitations, alternative green extracting agents need to be explored. Ionic liquids (ILs), emerging and greener alternatives, can also serve this purpose. It is essential to explore ILs that are effective for recovering ibuprofen, among millions of ILs. The conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is an efficient tool that can be used to screen ILs specifically for ibuprofen extraction. The main objective of this work was to identify the best IL for the extraction of ibuprofen. A total of 152 different cation-anion combinations consisting of eight aromatic and non-aromatic cations and nineteen anions were screened. The evaluation was based upon activity coefficients, capacity, and selectivity values. Furthermore, the effect of alkyl chain length was studied. The results suggest that quaternary ammonium (cation) and sulfate (anion) have better extraction ability for ibuprofen than the other combinations tested. An ionic liquid-based green emulsion liquid membrane (ILGELM) was developed using the selected ionic liquid as the extractant, sunflower oil as the diluent, Span 80 as the surfactant, and NaOH as the stripping agent. Experimental verification was carried out using the ILGELM. The experimental results indicated that the predicted COSMO-RS and the experimental results were in good agreement. The proposed IL-based GELM is highly effective for the removal and recovery of ibuprofen.

Combining Constructed Wetlands and UV Photolysis for the Advanced Removal of Organic Matter, Nitrogen, and Emerging Pollutants from Wastewater

This study reports the performance of a three-step lab-scale system including a hybrid digester (HD), a vertical flow (VF) constructed wetland, and a photodegradation (PD) lamp, with two different arrangements regarding the position of the recirculation point. In addition to total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and nitrogen compounds, removal of the following pollutants was investigated: paracetamol (ACE), ofloxacin (OFL), caffeine (CAF), ketoprofen (KET), ibuprofen (IBU), clofibric acid (ACB), bisphenol A (BPA), and sotalol (SOT). An excellent performance of HD was achieved on the elimination of TSS (82.2 ± 18.5% on average) and COD (63.9 ± 4.1%). TSS and COD removal increased to 91.2 ± 0.4% and 83.4 ± 2.9%, respectively, for the combined HD–VF system. Ammonia removal was 57.0 ± 7.8% in the VF unit while significant denitrification occurred in the HD. The overall HD–VF–PD system achieved mean removals of 100% for OFL, KET, SOT, and IBU, 98 ± 2% for ACE, 87 ± 8% for CAF, 81 ± 38% for ACB and 26 ± 9% for BPA. The removal of ACE, OFL, CAF, and IBU was mostly by biodegradation in the HD and VF units while the PD unit was responsible for the removal of KET, ACB, and SOT.

Insight into the adsorptive removal of ibuprofen using porous carbonaceous materials: A review

Over the last decade, the removal of pharmaceuticals from aquatic bodies has garnered substantial attention from the scientific community. Ibuprofen (IBP), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is released into the environment in pharmaceutical waste as well as medical, hospital, and household effluents. Adsorption technology is a highly efficient approach to reduce the IBP in the aquatic environment, particularly at low IBP concentrations. Due to the exceptional surface properties of carbonaceous materials, they are considered ideal adsorbents for the IBP removal of, with high binding capacity. Given the importance of the topic, the adsorptive removal of IBP from effluent using various carbonaceous adsorbents, including activated carbon, biochar, graphene-based materials, and carbon nanostructures, has been compiled and critically reviewed. Furthermore, the adsorption behavior, binding mechanisms, the most effective parameters, thermodynamics, and regeneration methods as well as the cost analysis were comprehensively reviewed for modified and unmodified carbonaceous adsorbents. The compiled studies on the IBP adsorption shows that the IBP uptake of some carbon-based adsorbents is significantly than that of commercial activated carbons. In the future, much attention is needed for practical utilization and upscaling of the research findings to aid the management and sustainability of water resource.

Simultaneous and selective removal of diclofenac and ibuprofen from aqueous matrices by a hybrid TiO2-dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer

ABSTRACT Dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer based on TiO2 nanoparticles (NPS) (TiO2-MIP) was synthesised by surface molecularly imprinted method to achieve the simultaneous and selective removal of diclofenac and ibuprofen in aqueous media. The characterisation results of Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed the successful imprinting process on the surface of titania. The effects of operating parameters including pH, initial concentration of target pollutants and dosage of nanocomposite were first investigated. Then, TiO2-MIP nanocomposites were prepared at different TiO2 NPS to imprinted polymer mass ratios, and the optimal value was determined. The best treatment performance was obtained at pH = 4, 10 mg/L of target pollutants, 1 g/L of the nanocomposite, and 1:4 mass ratio, in which the simultaneous and selective removal efficiency of diclofenac and ibuprofen was 86.6% and 75.0%, respectively. The adsorption capacity of synthesised TiO2-MIP nanocomposites for DCF and IBP was 5.22 and 4.38 mg/g, respectively. The pseudo-second-order model (R2 ≥ 0.99) and Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.99) demonstrated the best fitting with experimental data. The adsorption capacity, photodegradation activity, selectivity and reusability of polymeric nanocomposite were also studied. The results revealed that the synthesised TiO2-MIP nanocomposite had higher adsorption capacity, enhanced photodegradation performance and better selectivity for target pollutants than non-imprinted TiO2 nanocomposite. The results further showed that the selection factor of TiO2-MIP for diclofenac and ibuprofen was 5.4 and 3.8 times of the competitive pollutant, respectively, indicating stronger and more specific interactions for the target molecules. The brilliant adsorption and photodegradation performance, simultaneous removal of contaminants, good stability and selectivity towards target pollutants in the presence of competitive compounds are the advantages of the as-prepared TiO2-MIP nanocomposite. Thus, a hybrid TiO2-molecularly imprinted polymer can play an influential role in the treatment of persistent environmental insults in complex aquatic environments.

Biomass-Tuned Reduced Graphene Oxide@Zn/Cu: Benign Materials for the Cleanup of Selected Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Water.

The persistent increase in the amount of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (IBP) and diclofenac (DCF) in water bodies is alarming, thereby calling for a need to be addressed. To address this challenge, a bimetallic (copper and zinc) plantain-based adsorbent (CZPP) and reduced graphene oxide modified form (CZPPrgo) was prepared by facile synthesis for the removal of ibuprofen (IBP) and diclofenac (DCF) in water. Both the CZPP and CZPPrgo were characterized by different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and pHpzc analysis. FTIR and XRD confirmed the successful synthesis of the CZPP and CZPPrgo. The adsorption of the contaminants was carried out in a batch system, and several operational variables were optimized. The adsorption is affected by the initial concentration of the pollutants (5-30 mg·L-1), the adsorbent dose (0.05-0.20 g), and pH (2.0-12.0). The CZPPrgo has the best performance with maximum adsorption capacities of 148 and 146 mg·g-1 for removing IBP and DCF from water, respectively. The experimental data were fitted into different kinetic and isotherm models; the removal of IBP and DCF follows the pseudo-second order, which can be best explained by the Freundlich isotherm model. The reuse efficiency was above 80% even after four adsorption cycles. This shows that the CZPPrgo is a promising adsorbent for removing IBP and DCF in water.

Ex-situ magnetic activated carbon for the adsorption of three pharmaceuticals with distinct physicochemical properties from real wastewater.

Pharmaceuticals are able to evade conventional wastewater treatments and therefore, are recurrently found in the environment with proven potential to cause harm to human and wildlife. Adsorption onto activated carbon (AC) is a promising complement. However, AC production from non-renewable resources and its difficult after-use recuperation are prohibitive. Hence, a waste-based magnetic activated carbon (MAC) was produced from paper mill sludge, via an ex-situ synthesis, for the adsorptive removal of carbamazepine (CBZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and ibuprofen (IBU) from ultrapure water and wastewater. The MAC was obtained through the promotion of electrostatic interactions between magnetic and activated carbon particles in a water suspension at controlled pH between the points of zero charge of both surfaces. The optimized condition (MACX3) presented remarkable properties regarding specific surface area (SBET=795m2 g-1) and saturation magnetization (MS=19emug-1). Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption studies were performed under batch conditions. Adsorption equilibrium was reached in up to 30min for all pharmaceuticals in both matrices, proving the low dependence on the adsorbate and the broad applicability of MACX3 in pharmaceutical adsorption. Regarding equilibrium experiments, high Langmuir maximum adsorption capacities (qm) were achieved in ultrapure water (up to 711 ± 40 µmol g-1). Equilibrium studies in wastewater revealed a decay in qm when compared to ultrapure water: 28% for CBZ (468 ± 20 µmol g-1 (111 ± 5 mg g-1)), 78% for SMX (145±10 µmol g-1 (37 ± 3 mg g-1)) and 62% for IBU (273 ± 8 µmol g-1 (56 ± 2 mg g-1)), attributed to the wastewater pH, which dictates the speciation of the pharmaceuticals and controls electrostatic interactions between pharmaceuticals and MAC, and to competition effects by organic matter. It was demonstrated the promising applicability of a waste-based ex-situ MAC, rapidly retrievable from water, as an alternative tertiary wastewater treatment for pharmaceuticals removal.

Studies in synthesis of nano-zinc oxide mixed PVC matrix membrane and its application for ibuprofen drug removal

The present study performed pharmaceutical drug such Ibuprofen (IBP) separation by novel nano-Zinc oxide (ZnO) mixed PVC matrix membrane. The study represents an attempt to the synergistic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticle due to its catalytic nature and versatile PVC as polymeric membrane material to fabricate desired membrane for improving IBP removal considering hazardous environmental impacts of ibuprofen on aquatic as well as human life. The ZnO nanoparticles produced by novel sono-chemical precipitation method were confirmed by HRTEM analysis. The nano-ZnO mixed PVC membrane was prepared by phase inversion method using water as the non-solvent, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as the solvent and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6 kDa as the pore forming agent. Membrane properties such as water uptake and contact angle, resistance estimation was also measured. The characterization Techniques such as FTIR, FESEM, FESEM-EDX were used to characterize zinc oxide and blended membranes to examine structural and functional groups. The effects of pH and transmembrane pressure and IBP concentration on IBP removal were taken into account to optimize membrane performance.1% nano-Zinc oxide mixed PVC membrane showed better flux recovery ratio 89%, IBP removal of about 67% among other modified membrane.

Biological magnetic ion exchange resin on advanced treatment of synthetic wastewater

In this work, three biological ion exchange systems and one biological activated carbon (BAC) system were established by employing magnetic ion exchange resin (MIEX), non-magnetic resin (NIEX), polystyrenic resin (DIEX) and granular activated carbon as the biocarrier for advanced treatment of wastewater. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal of four systems all stabilized at about 84% due to biodegradation. The start-up period of bio-MIEX (nearly 40 d) was greatly shorter than that of others (nearly 190 d). Ibuprofen removal was ascribed to adsorption in the initial stage, which subsequently changed to the effect of biodegradation. After the start-up period, ibuprofen removal was nearly 100% (bio-MIEX), 60% (bio-NIEX), 61% (bio-DIEX) and 89% (BAC). According to the surface observation, ATP and protein measurement and metagenomic analysis, the superior performance of bio-MIEX could be attributed to its highest biological activity resulted from the presence of Fe3O4 rather than polymer matrix and surface roughness.

Anti-inflammatory drugs analysis in a wastewater sewage treatment plant and surface water in semiarid climate

This work aimed to analyze the presence of four common molecules (diclofenac, dipyrone, ibuprofen, and paracetamol) in the Ipojuca River, in the stretch of Caruaru municipality (Brazil), and in a wastewater treatment plant that discharges treated water to the river. Collections were conducted for three months at each point during April, May, and June. The samples were collected in three repetitions (sample, replica, and triplicate). Through Pearson’s correlation, the correlation between ibuprofen and diclofenac concentration and rainfall in the region was also verified. These drugs were detected in 100% of the samples, with concentrations between 7.4–548.2 and 81.8–231.8 μg.L-1, respectively. Paracetamol and dipyrone were not detected. The observed high concentrations are due to the high consumption of drugs and the low rate of sewage collection in the municipality. Both analyzed drugs — ibuprofen and diclofenac — had insignificant correlation results with rainfall (-0.022 and -0.071, respectively). Regarding the drugs in the WWTP, the treatment consisting of anaerobic followed by aerated lagoons showed efficiency ranging from 35.9 to 93.6% in the removal of diclofenac. The removal of ibuprofen was higher in April (86.6%), but in the other two months, it did not prove to be efficient, evidencing the need to implement more adapted technologies in the removal of drugs combined with the network expansion for sewage collection in the region. A study with longer time monitoring is needed to understand the rainfall effect on drug concentration in the river.