Reuse and recovery of raw hospital wastewater containing ofloxacin after photocatalytic treatment with nano graphene oxide magnetite

Abstract

Inadequate treatment of hospital wastewater could result in considerable risks to public health due to its macro- and micropollutant content. In order to eliminate this problem, a new nanoparticle composite was produced under laboratory conditions and a photocatalytic degradation approach was used. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus (TP) (macro) and oflaxin (micro) pollutant removal were investigated with the nano graphene oxide magnetite (Nano-GO/M) particles by two different processes, namely adsorption and photodegradation. Low removal efficiencies (21-60%) were obtained in the adsorption process for the parameters given above, after 90 min contact time at a pH of 7.8 with 5 g/L Nano-GO/M composite. Using the photodegradation process, higher removal efficiencies were obtained with 2 g/L Nano-GO/M composite for COD (88%), TSS (82%), TKN (95%) and oflaxin (97%), at pH 7.8 after 60 min irradiation time at a UV power of 300 W. The synthesized nanoparticle was reused for two sequential treatments of pharmaceutical wastewater with no significant losses of removal efficiencies (for oflaxin 97%-90%). The quality of the treated hospital wastewater was first class according to the Turkish Water Pollution Control Regulations criteria. This water could also be used for irrigation purposes.