Treatment of pharmaceutical contaminated water by electrochemical processes
Abla Zouai, Yasmine Ait Ouaissa, Souad Bouafia, Malika Chabani, Nor El Houda Madi
Laboratory of Reaction Engineering, Faculty of Process Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, U.S.T.H.B a, Algeria
https://doi.org/10.5004/ic202421
ABSTRACT
This study examines the effectiveness of two electrochemical processes: electro-Fenton and electrocoagulation, in the degradation of pharmaceutical contaminants nystatin and atenolol. Batch-mode experiments were conducted using iron and aluminum electrodes for the electrocoagulation process to assess their performance. The findings revealed that electrocoagulation (EC) was highly efficient for nystatin degradation, achieving a removal rate of approximately 99% under optimal conditions: neutral pH and an initial concentration of 2.69 × 10–5 mol/L with aluminum electrodes. Conversely, the EC process proved ineffective for Atenolol degradation, showing low removal efficiency with both iron and aluminum electrodes. To address this limitation, the electro-Fenton process was implemented, resulting in a maximum degradation rate of 90% under optimal conditions: an initial pH of 3, a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration of 8 mM, a current intensity of 0.25 A, and an initial solution concentration of 1.87 × 10–5 mol/L (5 mg/L).
Keywords: Electrocoagulation; Electro-Fenton; Nystatin; Atenolol
