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

Abstract

Pharmaceutical compounds contribute to the emerging pollutants in water and in many cases, they are not efficiently mineralized by conventional treatment methods. At the same time, landfills remain the main final destination of discarded drugs. In the present study, the mineralization of the Ibuprofen medicinal commercial product (Algofren®) in aqueous solutions using UV irradiation, hydrogen peroxide, titanium dioxide and ferric ions was examined. All experiments were conducted in a batch photoreactor operated for 120-150 min. The main target was to select the most effective operating conditions for the mineralization of the solutions treated. Single photolysis or TiO2 photocatalysis were proved inefficient in eliminating the total organic carbon (TOC). By adjusting the initial amounts of Ibuprofen product and hydrogen peroxide, 81% TOC removal was achieved after 120 min. Adding iron in the solution led to a higher mineralization degree, especially during the first 30 min of the process. Iron was shown also to decrease the environmental footprint of the process as expressed via the electric energy per order, EEo