Degradation of four pharmaceuticals by solar photo-Fenton process: Kinetics and costs estimation

Solar photo-Fenton process for degradation of four types of pharmaceuticals namely amoxicillin, ampicillin, diclofenac, and paracetamol was studied. Experiments were carried out by solar compound parabolic collectors (CPCs) reactor with borosilicate tubes and capacity of 4.0 L. Oxidation of each pharmaceutical was investigated individually using 100 mg/L synthetic solution. The influence of irradiation time, initial pH value, and dosage of Fenton reagent were investigated. Paracetamol, and amoxicillin were completely removed after 60 and 90 min of irradiation respectively. Complete degradation of ampicillin and diclofenac was occurred after 120 min. The removal of pharmaceuticals was significantly affected by changing pH values from 3 to 10. Complete removal of all pharmaceuticals was achieved under acidic conditions (pH 3). The optimum H2O2 and FeSO4.7H(2)O dosage were 1.5 and 0.5 g/L, respectively. The results of photo-Fenton experiments fitted the pseudo-first order kinetic equation with high correlation. Costs estimation of 30m(3)/d full scale solar photo-oxidation plant was assessed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.