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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of a solar photocatalytic process using g-CN as photocatalyst on the degradation of pharmaceutical compounds...
The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of a solar photocatalytic process using g-CN as photocatalyst on the degradation of pharmaceutical compounds detected in hospital wastewater treatment plant secondary effluents. A compound parabolic collector pilot plant, established in the secondary effluent stream of the Ioannina city hospital wastewater treatment plant, was used for the photocatalytic experiments. The analysis of the samples before and after the photocatalytic treatment was accomplished using solid phase extraction (SPE), followed by UHPLC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS. Initial effluent characterization revealed the presence of ten pharmaceutical compounds. Among these, amisulpride, O-desmethyl venlafaxine, venlafaxine and carbamazepine were detected in all experiments. Initial concentrations ranged from 73 ng L for citalopram to 2924.53 ng L for O-desmethyl venlafaxine. The evolution of BOD and COD values were determined before and after the photocatalytic treatment. All detected pharmaceuticals were removed in percentages higher than 54% at an optimum catalyst loading ranging between 200 and 300 mg L. The potential of the catalyst to be reused without any treatment for two consecutive cycles was studied, showing a significant efficiency decrease.
Topics: Waste Disposal, Fluid; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Hospitals; Desvenlafaxine Succinate; Pharmaceutical Preparations
PubMed: 36770837
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28031170 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Feb 2024In this paper, we report a study concerning the quantification of new emerging pollutants in water as a request from the third European Watch List mechanism. The EU...
Determination of pollutants, antibiotics, and drugs in surface water in Italy as required by the third EU Water Framework Directive Watch List: method development, validation, and assessment.
In this paper, we report a study concerning the quantification of new emerging pollutants in water as a request from the third European Watch List mechanism. The EU Watch List compound was investigated by an internal method that was validated in terms of detection limits, linearities, accuracy, and precision in accordance with quality assurance criteria, and it was used to monitor several rivers from 11 Italian regions. The methodology developed was satisfactorily validated from 5 to 500 ng L for the emerging pollutants studied, and it was applied to different river waters sampled in Italy, revealing the presence of drugs and antibiotics. Rivers were monitored for 2 years by two different campaigns conducted in 2021 and 2022. A total of 19 emerging pollutants were investigated on 45 samples. The most detected analytes were O-desmethylvenlafaxine and venlafaxine. About azole compounds, sulfamethoxazole, fluconazole, and Miconazole were found. About antibiotics, ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin were found in three and one samples, respectively. Moreover, statistical analyses have found a significant correlation between O-desmethylvenlafaxine with venlafaxine, sulfamethoxazole with venlafaxine, and fluconazole with venlafaxine.
Topics: Water; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride; Desvenlafaxine Succinate; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Fluconazole; Rivers; Italy; Sulfamethoxazole
PubMed: 38280169
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32025-6