Photochemical mineralization of amoxicillin medicinal product by means of UV, hydrogen peroxide, titanium dioxide and iron.

In the present study, the photochemical degradation of amoxicillin and total organic carbon (TOC) removal in pharmaceutical aqueous solutions was studied using UV irradiation, titanium dioxide, hydrogen peroxide and iron in a batch photoreactor operated for 120-150 min. The effect of the initial concentrations of the target compound, hydrogen peroxide and ferric ions and of their combination was examined. It was found that under direct UV photolysis, considerable TOC removals were obtained only when the initial concentration of amoxicillin (AM) was below 100 mg/L. For initial concentration of AM 250 mg/L, the TOC removals achieved were of no practical use (below 5%). The TOC removals achieved in the presence of TiO2 were lower than 20% in all cases. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide in the range of 12.2-146.9 mmol/L and initial AM concentration 250 mg/L, for increasing H2O2 concentrations higher TOC removals were achieved up to the concentration of 73.4 mmol/L H2O2. The presence of even very small amounts of Fe(III) in the solution resulted in significantly increased TOC removals; 2.2 times higher than without Fe(III) after 120 min. Fe(III) presence accelerated dramatically the process during the first 60 min. The origin of Fe(III) ions was not important since practically the same results were obtained whether FeCl3 or Fe(NO3)3 was used as source of ferric ions. Adjusting the initial concentrations of AM, Fe(III) and H2O2, TOC removals above 90% were achieved.

Degradation and mineralization of 4-tert-butylphenol in water using Fe-doped TiO2 catalysts.

In the present work, the photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of 4-tert-butylphenol in water was studied using Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under UV light irradiation. Fe-doped TiO2 catalysts (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 wt.%) were prepared using wet impregnation and characterized via SEM/EDS, XRD, XRF and TEM, while their photocatalytic activity and stability was attended via total organic carbon, 4-tert-butyl phenol, acetic acid, formic acid and leached iron concentrations measurements. The effect of H2O2 addition was also examined. The 4% Fe/TiO2 demonstrated the highest photocatalytic efficiency in terms of total organic carbon removal (86%). The application of UV/H2O2 resulted in 31% total organic carbon removal and 100% 4-t-butylphenol conversion, however combining Fe/TiO2 catalysts with H2O2 under UV irradiation did not improve the photocatalytic performance. Increasing the content of iron on the catalyst from 0.5 to 4% considerably decreased the intermediates formed and increased the production of carbon dioxide. The photocatalytic degradation of 4-tert-butylphenol followed pseudo-second order kinetics. Leaching of iron was observed mainly in the case of 4% Fe/TiO2, but it was considered negligible taking into account the iron load on catalysts. The electric energy per order was found in the range of 28-147 kWh/m3/order and increased with increasing the iron content of the catalyst.

Photocatalytic treatment of organic pollutants in a synthetic wastewater using UV light and combinations of TiO2, H2O2 and Fe(III).

In this study, the photocatalytic treatment of an organic wastewater with/without phenolic compounds by means of ultraviolet irradiation, titanium dioxide and hydrogen peroxide was examined in an annular photoreactor. Specifically, the effect of initial total carbon concentration, catalyst loading and H2O2 amount on the removal of total carbon was first examined in the case of a synthetic organic wastewater. The influence of partial carbon substitution by phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4-discholophenol, trichlorophenol, and 4-nitrophenol on total carbon removal and target compounds' conversion was studied keeping constant the initial organic carbon load. It was shown that the process applied was effective in treating the wastewater for initial total carbon 32 mg L-1, 0.5 g L-1 TiO2, and 66.6 mg L-1 H2O2. Applying UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2, 58% and 53% total carbon removals were achieved, respectively, but combining TiO2 and H2O2 did not result in a better performance in the case of the synthetic wastewater without any phenolic compounds. In contrast, when a phenolic compound was added, the addition of H2O2 was beneficial, eliminating the differences observed from one phenolic compound to another. The total carbon removals observed were lower than the corresponding final conversions of the target phenolic compounds. Finally, the electric energy per order values were calculated and found to range in 52-248 kWh/m3/order, being dependent from the process applied and the phenolic compound present in the wastewater.