Enhance diclofenac removal in wastewater by photocatalyst process combination with hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

Diclofenac (DCF) is a synthetic, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It is a persistent chemical that resists biological degradation and is difficult to completely remove by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In recent years, various advantage oxidation processes (AOPs), including photocatalytic processes such as the TiO2/UV process, have been applied for DCF treatment in wastewater. In this study, a heterogeneous photocatalysis process combined with H2O2 was applied for DCF removal in synthesized wastewater. The results show that the optimum conditions for DCF removal by the photocatalysis process were a pH of 6.5 and an initial TiO2 concentration of 1 g/L. The removal efficiency of DCF at a concentration of 50 mg/L by the photocatalysis process was 65.25 % after a 150-min reaction time. A combination photocatalysis process with H2O2 can enhance DCF removal efficiency. The DCF concentration in solution was completely reduced after 150 minutes of reaction time by the UV/TiO2/H2O2 process. The optimum initial H2O2 concentration for this study was 10 ml/L.

Keywords

• Diclofenac
• Photocatalytic process
• Hydroxyl peroxide
• Hydroxyl radical