Evaluation of Photocatalysis as Pre-Treatment for the Degradation of Recalcitrant Emerging Pollutants

M. L. SATUF; S. M. ZACARÍAS; O. M. ALFANO; A. MANASSERO

Cusco

Congreso; 5th Iberoamerican Conference on Advanced Oxidation Technologies (CIPOA); 2022

Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (Lima, Perú) y Universidad Nacional Santiago Antunez de Mayolo

Clofibric acid (CA) is a non-biodegradable pharmaceutical drug with high persistence in the environment. In this work, heterogeneous photocatalysis with TiO2 was applied to enhance the biodegradability of a solution containing CA. Photocatalysis was carried out in an annular reactor filled with glass rings coated with the catalyst and irradiated by UV-LEDs. After 12 h of treatment, CA conversion of 90% was reached in the photocatalytic reactor, with a significant increase in the biodegradability of the solution. These results prove the feasibility of coupling photocatalysis with biological oxidation to reduce the time and costs of remediation processes.