Photocatalytic ozonation of parabens mixture using 10% N-TiO2 and the effect of water matrix

Eryk Fernandes; Rui C Martins; João Gomes

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137321

Photocatalytic ozonation of parabens mixture using 10% N-TiO₂ and the effect of water matrix

Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 20:718:137321. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137321. Epub 2020 Feb 14.

Authors

Eryk Fernandes¹, Rui C Martins², João Gomes¹

Affiliations

¹ CIEPQPF - Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Pólo II, Rua Sílvio Lima, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal.
² CIEPQPF - Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Pólo II, Rua Sílvio Lima, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: martins@eq.uc.pt.

PMID: 32088485
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137321

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped TiO₂ was applied in photocatalytic ozonation reactions for the degradation of a mixture of five parabens under UVA radiation, being evaluated the influence of the reaction medium. The initial mixture parabens concentration considered in these experiments was 50 mg L^-1. The parabens degradation rate was considerably enhanced under neutral pH, specially using a buffered solution, leading to a complete removal under 60 min and with transferred ozone dose (TOD) 36% lower compared to reaction under natural conditions. Isopropanol, known radical scavenger, impeded the complete contaminants removal, affecting the reaction route and by-products formation, but when KI was jointly added, total removal was achieved under 30 min and with a TOD of 25.9 mg L^-1. Parabens depletion was also improved in the presence of Cl^-, SO₄^2- and HCO₃^-, commonly present in wastewaters. The use of river water (RW) and a secondary wastewater (SWW) as water matrices maintained the process efficiency with lower TOD required, and treated solutions presented lower phytotoxicity towards Lepidium sativum.

Keywords: Nitrogen-doped catalyst; Parabens mixture; Photocatalytic ozonation; Phytotoxicity; Real water matrix.