Removal Of Pharmaceutical Pollutants Research Articles

A review on pharmaceutical pollutants removal in water solution by catalytic ozonation using zeolite

AbstractThe presence of pharmaceutical pollutants in water sources constitute a serious risk to human health and the environment. Catalytic ozonation has emerged as a promising strategy for reducing these pollutants. This procedure uses ozone with the help of catalysts to improve the oxidation of organic molecules. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in using zeolite as an ozonation catalyst in the elimination of pharmaceutical contaminants from water solutions. Zeolites have unique properties such as their high surface area, porosity, and ion‐exchange capabilities, that make them effective catalysts for the decomposition of ozone and the oxidation of organic pollutants into harmless byproducts. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of zeolite catalytic ozonation in the elimination of pharmaceutical pollutants from aqueous solutions encompassing the working mechanisms, the determinants affecting the process's efficiency, potential obstacles, and perspective avenues for advancement within this field.

DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR REHABILITATION OF A WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Pharmaceutical pollutants (PhP) represent a serious problem for surface, underground and even drinkable waters. PhP removal is of crucial importance since pharmaceutics production and consumption have been increasing during the last decades. The rehabilitation of the existent treatment plants is a viable solution to clean the water also by removing this type of contaminants which cause hazardous effects on human health and on environment. In this paper, the design of such improved plant with indications for technological objects including components, calculation details and examples are presented. The schemes for the improvement of the existent plants are explained, the introduction of corresponding membranes is sustained by appropriate computations and all the necessary elements for such an action are described in accordance with a lot of specialty studies. A flow balance scheme to calculate the water flow at the entrance in the installation of advanced treatment with filter membranes is also proposed.

DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR REHABILITATION OF A WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Pharmaceutical pollutants (PhP) represent a serious problem for surface, underground and even drinkable waters. PhP removal is of crucial importance since pharmaceutics production and consumption have been increasing during the last decades. The rehabilitation of the existent treatment plants is a viable solution to clean the water also by removing this type of contaminants which cause hazardous effects on human health and on environment. In this paper, the design of such improved plant with indications for technological objects including components, calculation details and examples are presented. The schemes for the improvement of the existent plants are explained, the introduction of corresponding membranes is sustained by appropriate computations and all the necessary elements for such an action are described in accordance with a lot of specialty studies. A flow balance scheme to calculate the water flow at the entrance in the installation of advanced treatment with filter membranes is also proposed.

Recent advances in removal of pharmaceutical pollutants in wastewater using metal oxides and carbonaceous materials as photocatalysts: a review

The pharmaceuticals industry has played an important role in developing medicines for improving health and quality of life in treating humans and animals around the world.

Construction of Z-scheme heterojunction TiO2-ZnO@Oxygen-doped gC3N4 composite for enhancing H2O2 photoproduction and removal of pharmaceutical pollutants under visible light

In this study, the heterojunction photocatalyst of titanium dioxide-zinc oxide@oxygen-doped graphitic carbon nitride (TiO2-ZnO@OCN (TZ@OCN)) was synthesized using a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal self-assembly process. Characterization of the fabricated materials revealed that the incorporation of TiO2 and ZnO as inherent semiconductors along with the oxygen doping has effectively broadened the absorption spectrum of gC3N4, which can promote the electron generation and provide more active sites for O2 and H+ adsorption. It is noteworthy that the mentioned structure modification resulted in a superior H2O2 production rate among gC3N4-based photocatalysts with up to 3.11 mM.g−1 under visible light irradiation. Moreover, a valence band shifting from 1.57 to 2.91 eV upon doping oxygen atoms also elucidated the participation of active species in the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (99.7 %, k = 0.030 min−1) and tetracyline (94.6 %, k = 0.017 min−1), in which superoxide radicals (•O2−) were shown to play a major role in removing the antibiotic. Besides, a Z-scheme heterojunction mechanism is additionally suggested, demonstrating the effectiveness of electron-hole pair splitting in the oxidation of antibiotics. Conclusively, the results show a novel and feasible modification pathway to enhance the photocatalytic activities of gC3N4 and other advanced semiconductor catalysts, especially for eliminating antibiotics and generating H2O2 within aqueous media.

Removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from effluent by a plant-based metal–organic framework

Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), such as pharmaceutical compounds, are of growing environmental concern, and there is a need to develop new materials and technologies for their efficient removal. Here we developed a highly porous and stable zirconium–ellagate framework, denoted SU-102, which was used to remove EOCs from water, including real municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent. SU-102 adsorbs cationic EOCs with particularly high efficiencies, and of the 17 pharmaceutical EOCs detected in wastewater treatment plant effluent, all 9 cationic species were removed with efficiencies of at least 79.0–99.6%, emphasizing the importance of framework charge on selectivity. As a second mechanism of EOC removal, SU-102 photodegraded the antibiotic sulphamethazine under visible light. SU-102 is synthesized from ellagic acid, an edible polyphenol building unit, highlighting the possibility of creating stable high-performance multi-functional materials from sustainably sourced plant-based components.

A Review on Application of Biochar in the Removal of Pharmaceutical Pollutants through Adsorption and Persulfate-Based AOPs

Increasing quantities of pharmaceutical pollutants have been found in aquatic ecosystems. The treatment of pharmaceutical pollutants has been a major task that people have been committed to in recent years. The removal of pharmaceutical pollutants can be achieved by adsorption and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Compared with other carbon materials, biochar has a strong adsorption capacity and persulfate activation ability, and more importantly, biochar is cheap and easy to obtain; thus, it has higher economic benefits. This study firstly reviews the application of biochar in the removal of drugs (tetracycline (TC), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), acetaminophen (ACT), cephalexin (CPX), levofloxacin (LEV), etc.) through adsorption and persulfate-based AOPs. In addition, we summarize the adsorption mechanism of biochar for various pharmaceutical pollutants and the main attack sites on different pharmaceutical pollutants in persulfate-based AOPs catalyzed by biochar. Finally, the challenges and prospects of biochar with respect to the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants are put forward.

Sunflower seed shells@polyaniline: a novel composite for the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from wastewater

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present work is to prepare and characterise a low-cost composite based on sunflowers seed shell (SFS) coated with a small amount of polyaniline. This composite was used in the removal of pharmaceutical compounds from aqueous solutions (sodium salicylate SS). SFS@PANI composite was characterised by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry and infrared spectroscopy. The removal of SS from wastewater, using the synthesised composite as an adsorbent material, was investigated as a function of adsorbent dose, initial concentration, pH of the solution, temperature and contact time. The equilibrium contact time was achieved at 60 min and the experimental results show that the kinetic model of pseudo-second-order (PSO) and Langmuir isotherm provided a good fitting of the whole experimental data. Thermodynamic parameters like free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°) and entropy (ΔS°) were also calculated. The obtained results suggest that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Additionally, the prepared Sunflower seed shell@Polyaniline (SFS@PANI) composite exhibited a good regeneration capacity and excellent reusability after four cycles.

Insight on the development of molybdenum oxide-based photocatalyst towards pharmaceutical pollutants abatement

Abstract The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment has given an unparallel impact on the human and environment. Till the present day, several methods have been imposed for the pharmaceutical pollutants’ removal. However, these methods suffer from some drawbacks which limited their application in wastewater treatment. As a new advanced technology, the photocatalysis method has been considered as an efficient method to eliminate the pharmaceutical pollutants in the water matrix. Molybdenum oxide (MoO3) photocatalyst has captivated global interest due to its non-toxicity, good thermal and chemical stability, and remarkable optical properties. However, the limitations of MoO3material have hindered its theoretical performance in eliminating distinct pharmaceutical pollutants. Some modification strategies have been proposed for MoO3photocatalyst which results in the development of several modified MoO3photocatalysts towards a broad range of pharmaceutical pollutants removal.

Atenolol adsorption onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified by NaOCl and ultrasonic treatment; kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic, and artificial neural network modeling.

The removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from the aqueous environment is a great environmental concern, mainly due to their diversity, high consumption, and sustainability. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the ability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified by sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and ultrasonic treatment in refining wastewaters contaminated with Atenolol β-blocker drug (ATN). The physical and structural characteristics of the raw MWCNTs and modified MWCNTs (M-MWCNTs) were analyzed using SEM, TEM, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, and FT-IR techniques. The effects of different parameters, including pH, initial concentration, contact time, and temperature were studied and optimized. Subsequently, the adsorption data were analyzed by several kinetic and equilibrium isotherm equations and modeled by artificial neural network (ANN). Highest ATN removal (87.89%) ((qe,exp= 46.03mgg-1)) occurred on the adsorbent activated within 10s of ultrasonication time and NaOCl 30%. Moreover, adsorbent modification significantly improved the ATN removal, so that the removal rate on the raw MWCNTs was about 58%, but in the same conditions, M-MWCNTs removed more than 92% of the adsorbate. The adsorption process reached equilibrium after 90min under the optimized pH of 6. According to ANN modeling, approximately the whole values dispersed around the 45°line, indicating a good compatibility between the trial results and ANN-predicted data. The modification of MWCNTs in proper ultrasonic power via appropriate concentration of NaOCl solution removed many of the impurities and significantly improved the adsorption performance of MWCNTs.

Effects of molar ratio and calcination temperature on the adsorption performance of Zn/Al layered double hydroxide nanoparticles in the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants

Abstract This work focuses on the development of zinc/aluminum layered double hydroxides (LDHs) phases intercalated by carbonates ions (Zn-Al-CO3) and their use in the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants. The materials were synthesized by the co-precipitation method at different Zn/Al molar ratios (r = 1, 3 and 5). Each synthesized material was calcined at 300, 400, 500 and 600 °C to increase their performance. Samples were characterized by various physicochemical techniques including XRD, FTIR, ICP-AES and TEM-EDX. The as-synthesized and calcined products were used for the removal of salicylic acid (SA) as a model of pharmaceutical pollutants. The results obtained show that the Zn/Al molar ratios and calcination temperatures have a great influence on the adsorption capacity. The optimum adsorption efficiency was found to be 94.59% for Zn/Al molar ratio of 3 and a calcination temperature of 300 °C. Kinetics of the adsorption takes place in two steps; the first fast rapid step can be interpreted by the adsorption on the external surface of the crystallites, while the second slow step could be due the reconstruction phenomenon of LDHs structure “memory effect”. After the adsorption processes, XRD patterns show that the calcined product (r = 3, T = 300 °C) was reconstructed by a salicylic acid. The adsorption performance was slightly decreased with regeneration cycles.

Removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from synthetic wastewater using chemically modified biomass of green alga Scenedesmus obliquus

Pharmaceutical compounds are considered emerging environmental pollutants that have a potential harmful impact on environment and human health. In this study, the biomass of alga (Scenedesmus obliquus) was modified using alkaline solution, and used for the biosorption of tramadol (TRAM) and other pharmaceuticals. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were investigated. The obtained results reveal high adsorption capacity of tramadol over modified algal biomass (MAB) after 45min with removal percentage of 91%. Pseudo-second order model was well fitted with the experimental data with correlation coefficient (0.999). Biosorption of tramadol on modified algal biomass proceeds with Freundlich isotherm model with correlation coefficient (0.942) that emphasized uptake of TRAM by MAB is driven by chemisorption. FTIR spectra of MAB before and after the adsorption were analyzed; some IR bands were detected with slight shift and low intensity suggesting their involving in adsorption. The tramadol biosorption by MAB is a chemical process as confirmed by Dubinin-Radushkevich. The adsorption of pharmaceutical over MAB is mainly preceded by hydrophilic interactions between amino and carbonyl groups in pharmaceutical molecules and hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups on surface of biosorbent. It was emphasized by disappearance O-H and C-O from biomass IR spectra after adsorption. In matrix of pharmaceutical, the recorded adsorption capacities for CEFA, PARA, IBU, TRAM and CIP are 68, 58, 42, 42 and 39mg/g over MAB at natural pH and MAB dose of 0.5g/L. Furthermore, oxygen uptake by bacteria was applied for estimate the toxicity of pharmaceutical. The recorded result concluded the efficient reusability of modified algal biomass for biosorption of pharmaceuticals, as well only the adsorption efficiency decreased by 4.5% after three runs. Subsequently, the modified algal biomass is a promising reusable adsorbent for decontamination of wastewater from pharmaceuticals.