Advanced oxidation process based on water radiolysis to degrade and mineralize diclofenac in aqueous solutions.

Residual pharmaceutical compounds (PCs) are among the emerging organic contaminants detected in our water cycle. Diclofenac (Dic) is one of the commonly detected pharmaceutical contaminant in aquatic systems. This study was designed to investigate the degradation and mineralization of Dic in aqueous solutions by ionizing radiation emitted from radioactive Co60 under several conditions. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and TOC measurements confirmed the radiolytic degradation of Dic. The absorbed doses needed to degrade 99% Dic at 25, 50, 100, 190, 280, and 480 µM were 0.560, 0.950, 1.950, 4.000, 5.400, and 7.400 kGy, respectively. This process follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. The γ-ray/N2O system decreased the dose required to degrade 99% to 1.47 kGy. The presence of bromide anions inhibits degradation. Remarkably, adding H2O2, S2O82-, or N2O promotes mineralization. Conversely, the absence of dissolved oxygen hinders mineralization. This study provides a viable finding that ionizing radiation are useful tolls to remedy water containing pharmaceutical organic compounds.

Effect of Co60 irradiation on the degradation and mineralization of sulfonated aromatic compounds in aqueous solutions.

As sulfonated aromatic compounds are widely used in industry, they have frequently been detected in aquatic environments. This study evaluated the degradation and mineralization of 2,6-naphthalenedisulfonic acid disodium salt (2,6-NS), sodium 2-naphthalenesulfonate (2-NS), benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (BS), and 4-vinylbenzene sulfonate sodium (4-VBS) by exposing aqueous solutions of these compounds to Co60 irradiation. The radiolytic degradation of these pollutants was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. The dose required to achieve 90% degradation (D90) of these four sulfonated compounds was 0.480 (2,6-NS), 0.390 (2-NS), 0.194 (BS), and 0.280 kGy (4-VBS). The chemical radiolytic yield (Gvalue) decreased as the absorbed dose increased; moreover, the chemical structures of these compounds affected their radiolytic efficacy. No significant reduction in radiolytic degradation was observed in the presence of inorganic anions (SO42-, Cl-). The radiolytic degradation efficiency was higher when hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, a hydroxyl radical (OH) promoter) was added. The results also showed that combining H2O2, persulfate anions (S2O82-, a sulfate radical anion (SO4-) promoter), or N2O gas (a OH radical promoter) with the sulfonated compounds enhanced the radiolytic mineralization yield and process by reducing the required irradiation energy. In terms of the Co60/O2 system, at an absorbed dose of 12 kGy, the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency was almost 70%, resulting in the observed release of SO42- anions. In addition, the concentration of dissolved oxygen decreased and the pH was lowered. Based on these results, irradiation with Co60 was found to be a useful tool to remedy wastewater containing sulfonated aromatic compounds.

Detailed study of water radiolysis-based degradation of chloroorganic pollutants in aqueous solutions.

Water radiolysis-induced destruction, dechlorination and mineralization of harmful chlorophenols, i.e., 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-tCPH), 4-chlorophenol (4-CPH) and 4-chlorocatechol (4-CC), using radioactive Co-60 have been investigated as individual and combination methods (2,4,6-tCPH+4-CPH+4-CC) with an initial concentration of 100 µM of each pollutant. The kinetic efficiencies of chlorophenol destruction were compared. The individual destruction percentages of 2,4,6-tCPH, 4-CPH and 4-CC reached at least 99% with absorbed doses (D99%) of 1.44, 1.73 and 1.85 kGy, respectively. Substantially higher absorbed doses were required to destroy each chlorophenol when they were all present in the treated. HCO3- anions inhibit the elimination efficiency of chlorophenols. The effects of S2O82- anions, N2O and N2 on destruction and mineralization were elaborated. O2 was crucial for the mineralization. Except for the γ-ray/N2 system, full mineralization was achieved for both individual and combined chlorophenols. The results indicate that hydrated electrons (eaq-) do not have a direct effect on the destruction of these chlorophenols. The study main goals were to show the successful application of ionizing radiation as a useful tool for environmental remediation, to continue scientific research on ionizing radiation as an advanced oxidation technology (AOT) and to provide a new, economic, practical and efficient solution to remove pollutants from aqueous media.

Gallic acid degradation by electron beam irradiation under various conditions.

In this study, aqueous solutions of gallic acid (GA) were irradiated in an electron beam (EB) accelerator under different experimental conditions (various initial GA concentrations, presence or absence of oxidant and oxygen). For an initial GA concentration of 50 µM, complete GA degradation was achieved with an absorbed dose of 850 Gy in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Both GA removal and mineralization are favored when oxygen is present. The addition of persulfate anions (S2O82-) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) also increased the efficiency of GA degradation and mineralization. For an absorbed dose of 14 kGy, GA mineralization reached approximately 45%, 55%, and 72% for the EB, EB/H2O2, and EB/S2O82-systems, respectively. Three transformation products were tentatively identified in the presence of oxygen, these are the result of hydroxylation and ring opening reactions. No specific transformation product was found for the sulfate radical anion (SO4-●) reaction. Four additional compounds, including a dimer, were identified in oxygen-free solutions. These findings demonstrate that water radiolysis based on EB irradiation is an efficient process to activate H2O2 and S2O82- anions and is an advanced oxidation process (AOP).

Radiochromic film containing poly(hexa-2,4-diynylene adipate) as a radiation dosimeter.

A radiation-sensitive polymer poly(hexa-2,4-diynylene adipate) (PHDA) was synthesized and incorporated into polyvinyl butyral films for radiation dose measurements in the 0.5 - 60 kGy range. PHDA undergoes crosslinking polymerization upon exposure to γ-rays, which changes its color from very pale yellow to deep orange-yellow. The color change is directly related to the absorbed dose. The absorption spectrum of the irradiated films features one absorption band around 500 nm with a shoulder around 465 nm. With increasing absorbed dose, the two bands grow in intensity and move towards higher wavelengths. The dosimeter is nearly insensitive to variations of the humidity in the range of 0-54% and temperature in the range of 30-45 °C during irradiation. The color intensifies after irradiation, both in the dark and in the light at room temperature, which reflects the continuing crosslinking polymerization. However, at - 4 °C, the color intensity does not change with time.

In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Morphological Assessments of GO-ZnO against the MCF-7 Cells: Determination of Singlet Oxygen by Chemical Trapping.

Graphene-based materials have attracted considerable interest owing to their distinctive characteristics, such as their biocompatibility in terms of both their physical and intrinsic chemical properties. The use of nanomaterials with graphene as a biocompatible agent has increased due to an uptick in dedication from biomedical investigators. Here, GO-ZnO was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), and Raman spectroscopy for structural, morphological, and elemental analysis. The toxic extent of GO-ZnO was noted by a methyl-thiazole-tetrazolium (MTT), while cellular morphology was observed towards the MCF-7 cells using an inverted microscope at magnification 40×. The cytotoxic effect of GO-ZnO investigated the cell viability reduction in a dose-dependent manner, as well as prompted the cell demise/destruction in an apoptotic way. Moreover, statistical analysis was performed on the experimental outcomes, with p-values < 0.05 kept as significant to elucidate the results. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) demonstrated the potential applicability of graphene in tumor treatment. These key results attest to the efficacy of GO-ZnO nanocomposites as a substantial candidate for breast malignancy treatment.

Gamma irradiation-induced complete degradation and mineralization of phenol in aqueous solution: Effects of reagent.

This study aims to gain new insight into phenol degradation and mineralization in aqueous solution using ionizing radiation to control its radiolytic elimination under various experimental conditions and to present the different radical reactions involved in water radiolysis. The most obvious finding of this study is that the combination of a reagent, i.e., O3, H2O2, N2O, O2, or S2O82-, with γ-rays effectively enhances the radiolytic system for phenol degradation or mineralization. Radiolytic yield is higher with H2O2 than with S2O82-. For the γ-ray/free O2, γ-ray/H2O2, γ-ray/S2O82-, γ-ray/N2O, and γ-ray/N2 systems, the absorbed doses for 90% phenol elimination are 1.7, 0.85, 1.65, 1.2, and 6.4kGy, respectively; in contrast, phenol can be decomposed totally and directly via reaction with molecular ozone. The lowest dose constant for phenol removal is determined for γ-ray/HCO3-. 89% of mineralization is reached for an absorbed dose of 10kGy with a γ-ray/S2O82- combination.