Open AccessRemoval of cephalexin from aqueous solutions using the fenton photocatalytic process
Author(s) -
Larisa Mocanu,
Maria Gonţa,
Vera Matveevici,
Gheorghe Duca,
Veronica Porubin-Schimbător
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
akademos : revista de ştiinţă, inovare, cultură şi artă
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2587-3687
pISSN - 1857-0461
DOI - 10.52673/18570461.21.2-61.03
Subject(s) - oxidizing agent , chemistry , mineralization (soil science) , hydroxyl radical , radical , aqueous solution , hydrogen peroxide , catalysis , reagent , photocatalysis , degradation (telecommunications) , fenton's reagent , advanced oxidation process , nuclear chemistry , inorganic ions , peroxide , inorganic chemistry , ion , fenton reaction , organic chemistry , nitrogen , telecommunications , computer science
This paper aims to study the degradation and oxidation/mineralization process of cephalexin in model systems using Fenton’s reagent for UV irradiation (λ = 254 nm). The effect of pH (2-11), concentration of H2O2 (0,3434 mg/L) and concentration of Fe(II) (0-28 mg/L) on the degradation of 50 mg/L CPX were investigated. It has been determined optimum conditions for photocatalytic oxidation of CPX. Increasing the amount of H2O2 plays an inhibitory role in the production of hydroxyl radicals and reduces the process efficiency. This can be attributed to the reaction of excess peroxide with •OH and the formation of HO2 •, which has less oxidizing power compared to free hydroxyl radical. And as the concentration of the catalyst increases to the optimum, the excess of Fe(II) ions reacts with the hydroxyl radical and, therefore, the efficiency of the process also is reduced. Accordingly, the optimum degradation efficiency of 88 % and 83% for COD was obtained under the following conditions: pH 2,5, H2O2 concentration – 3,4 mg/L, Fe(II) ions concentration – 5,6 mg/L, cephalexin concentration – 50 mg/L, and reaction time – 60 min. Thus, the current study demonstrated that the photo-Fenton reactor can be used effectively as an advanced oxidation treatment unit for degradation of cephalexin under optimized environmental conditions.