ABSTRACT
Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) is a key ingredient in many cleaning and disinfectant products due to it being an effective antiviral and biocidal agent. Because of its prolific use, especially following the recent global COVID pandemic, increased levels of BAC have been found in the environment, in particular, in wastewater, where it has negative impacts due to its toxicity. This necessitates an effective treatment for BAC in wastewater to reduce its toxicity. In this work, electrochemical oxidation of BAC on a boron-doped diamond anode was studied to successfully remove BAC. The electrochemical measurements performed at different current densities confirmed that BAC was completely oxidized within 20 min of treatment at 50 mA/cm2. However, chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements showed that around 50% of the initial BAC was completely mineralized after 1 h of degradation at 50 mA/cm2, while the remaining electrooxidation of BAC resulted in the production of transformation products. © 2023 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.
ABSTRACT
Presently, the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic presents a major threat to global communal fitness also socio-financial development. Ignoring worldwide isolation as well as shutdown attempts, the occurrence of COVID-19 infected patients continues to be extremely large. Nonetheless, COVID-19's final course, combined with the prevalence of emerging contaminants (antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, nanoplastics, pesticides, and so forth) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), presents a major problem in wastewater situations. The research, therefore, intends near examine an interdisciplinary as well as technical greet to succor COVID-19 with subsequent COVID cycles of an epidemic as a framework for wastewater treatment settings. This research investigated the potential for wastewater-based epidemiology to detect SARS-CoV-2 also the enzymes happening in wastewater conditions. In addition, a chance for the incorporation into the WWTPs of emerging and robust technologies such as mesmeric nanobiotechnology, electrochemical oxidation, microscopy, and membrane processes to enhance the overall likelihood of environmental consequences of COVID-19 also strengthen such quality of water is resolved.
ABSTRACT
A large number of pathogenic microorganisms exist in medical wastewater, which could invade the human body through the water and cause harm to human health. With the global pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19), public health safety become particularly important, and medical wastewater treatment is an important part of it. In particular, electrochemical disinfection technology has been widely studied in medical wastewater treatment due to its greenness, high efficiency, convenient operation, and other advantages. In this paper, the development status of electrochemical disinfection technology in the treatment of medical wastewater is reviewed, and an electrochemical three-stage disinfection system is proposed for the treatment of medical wastewater. Moreover, prospects for the electrochemical treatment of medical wastewater will be presented. It is hoped that this review could provide insight and guidance for the research and application of electrochemical disinfection technology to treat medical wastewater.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a huge impact on our lives, increasing the consumption of certain pharmaceuticals, and with this, contributing to the intensification of their presence in wastewater and in the environment. This situation demands the implementation of efficient remediation technologies, among them, electrochemical oxidation (ELOX) is one the most applied. This work studies the application of ELOX with the aim of eliminate pharmaceuticals used in the fight against COVID-19, assessing its degradation rate, as well as the risk of formation of toxic trace by-products, such as unintentional POPs like polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). To this end, model solutions containing 10 mg L-1 of dexamethasone (DEX), paracetamol (PAR), amoxicillin (AMX), and sertraline (STR) with two different electrolytes (NaCl and Na2SO4) have been evaluated. However, electrochemical systems that contain chloride ions in solution together with PCDD/Fs precursor molecules may lead to the formation of these highly toxic by-products. So, PCDD/Fs were quantified under conditions of complete degradation of the drugs. Furthermore, the presence of PCDD/Fs precursors such as chlorophenols was determined, as well as the role of Cl-, Cl⢠and SO 4 ⢠- radicals in the formation of the by-products and PCDD/Fs. The maximum measured concentration of PCDD/Fs was around 2700 pg L-1 for the amoxicillin case in NaCl medium. The obtained results emphasise the importance of not underestimating the potential formation of these highly toxic trace by-products, in addition to the correct selection of oxidation processes and operation variables, in order to avoid final higher toxicity in the medium.
ABSTRACT
Antibiotics widely exist in medical wastewater, which seriously endanger human health. With the spread of the COVID-19 and monkeypox around the world, a large number of antibiotics have been abused and discharged. How to realize the green and efficient treatment of medical wastewater has become a hot research topic. As a common electrochemical water treatment technology, electrochemical oxidation technology (EOT) could effectively achieve advanced treatment of medical wastewater. Since entering the 21st century, electrochemical oxidation water treatment technology has received more and more attention due to its green, efficient, and easy-to-operate advantages. In this study, the research progress of EOT for the treatment of medical wastewater was reviewed, including the exploration of reaction mechanism, the preparation of functional electrode materials, combining multiple technologies, and the design of high-efficiency reactors. The conclusion and outlook of EOT for medical wastewater treatment were proposed. It is expected that the review could provide prospects and guidance for EOT to treat medical wastewater.
ABSTRACT
In this study, TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2-NTA) were used as an intermediate layer to provide effective electrocatalytic activity and stability for Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 anode. Compared with Ti/Ti4O7 anode, Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 anode exhibited higher oxygen evolution potential (2.40 V), larger active specific surface areas (1.81 m2 g−1), stronger radical generation capacity (64.42 μM), longer accelerated service life (56.0 h), and superior favipiravir removal ratio. The flow-through electrochemical reaction system was constructed by using the porous Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 anode. The removal ratio, TOC removal ratio and mineralization current efficiency of favipiravir in the flow-by electrochemical system were significantly improved and the energy consumption was reduced compared with the conventional flow-by electrochemical system, verifying the superiority of the porous flow-through Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 anode. The effects of operating parameters on the removal of favipiravir in the flow-through electrochemical reaction system were investigated. The degradation mechanisms of favipiravir are the synergetic effects of the free radical (•OH and SO4−•) and the direct electron transfer. Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 anode displayed excellent stability in five consecutive cycles, exhibited significant removal ratio (87.7%) of favipiravir from actual wastewater, and remained efficient and versatile for a wide range of typical PPCPs pollutants. Therefore, Ti/TiO2-NTA/Ti4O7 is a promising porous anode material in the engineering application.
ABSTRACT
Azithromycin (AM) detection has become of great interest as being one of the prescribed medicines in the medication protocol in Egypt for the recent coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Herein, a carbon paste electrode was simply amended with fumed silica for determining AM. The characterization of the new material was done by different techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The newly modified fumed silica carbon paste electrode exhibited a highly sensitive response toward the oxidation of 1.0 mmol/L AM in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) for a pH range of 5.0-10.0. The effect of varying AM concentrations was studied in PBS, pH 7.4, with a detection limit of 11 mu mol/L and a quantification limit of 37 mu mol/L. Eventually, the recently amended electrode attained reasonable sensitivity and constancy for AM detection in actual trials, such as blood plasma and pharmaceutical drugs.
ABSTRACT
Fully inactivating SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019, is of key importance for interrupting virus transmission but is currently performed by using biologically or environmentally hazardous disinfectants. Herein, we report an eco-friendly and efficient electrochemical strategy for inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 using in-situ formed nickel oxide hydroxide as anode catalyst and sodium carbonate as electrolyte. At a voltage of 5 V, the SARS-CoV-2 viruses can be rapidly inactivated with disinfection efficiency reaching 95% in only 30 s and 99.99% in 5 min. Mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical calculations indicate that the reactive oxygen species generated on the anode can oxidize the peptide chains and induce cleavage of the peptide backbone of the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, and thereby disables the virus. This strategy provides a sustainable and highly efficient approach for the disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 viruliferous aerosols and wastewater.