Issue 9, 2020

On the role of a graphene oxide/titania catalyst, visible LED and ozone in removing mixtures of pharmaceutical contaminants from water and wastewater

Abstract

A mixture of eight contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), most of them of pharmaceutical origin: acetaminophen, antipyrine, caffeine, hydrochlorothiazide, sulfamethoxazole, ketorolac, metoprolol and diclofenac, has been treated with some advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) involving ozone, visible LED radiation and a graphene oxide/titania catalyst (GO/TiO2). Variables that affect the process rate: visible LED radiation fluence, catalyst concentration and percentage of graphene oxide on the catalyst, were optimized through a factorial design taking TOC as an objective function. These variables were found to be: 303 W m−2, 0.4 g L−1, 1.5% GO loading, respectively, and tested in CEC doped wastewater. Application of gas–liquid absorption kinetics allows the kinetic regime of ozone reactions and the relative importance of mass transfer and chemical reactions to be determined. Two reaction periods were observed: an initial one of less than 20 minutes, where contaminants are removed mainly through direct reactions with ozone, and a second one, where free radical oxidation predominates. In this second period, hydroxyl radical concentrations for ozonation and photocatalytic ozonation were found to be 1.1 and 3.2 × 10−13 M, respectively.

Graphical abstract: On the role of a graphene oxide/titania catalyst, visible LED and ozone in removing mixtures of pharmaceutical contaminants from water and wastewater

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 شعبان 1441
Accepted
21 رمضان 1441
First published
22 رمضان 1441

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020,6, 2352-2364

On the role of a graphene oxide/titania catalyst, visible LED and ozone in removing mixtures of pharmaceutical contaminants from water and wastewater

M. Checa, F. J. Beltrán, F. J. Rivas and E. Cordero, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 2352 DOI: 10.1039/D0EW00276C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements