Improved biodegradation of pharmaceuticals after mild photocatalytic pretreatment

Arnoud de Wilt, Maricor J. Arlos, Mark R. Servos, H.H.M. Rijnaarts, Alette Langenhoff, Wayne Parker


Abstract
The combination of photocatalysis and biodegradation was investigated for the removal of nine selected pharmaceuticals as a means to reduce loadings into the environment. The combined process, consisting of a resource-efficient mild photocatalysis and a subsequent biological treatment, was compared to single processes of intensive photocatalysis and biological treatment. The UV-TiO2 based photocatalysis effectively removed atorvastatin, atenolol and fluoxetine (>80%). Biological treatment after mild photocatalytic pretreatment removed diclofenac effectively (>99%), while it persisted during the single biological treatment (
Cite:
Arnoud de Wilt, Maricor J. Arlos, Mark R. Servos, H.H.M. Rijnaarts, Alette Langenhoff, and Wayne Parker. 2020. Improved biodegradation of pharmaceuticals after mild photocatalytic pretreatment. Water and Environment Journal, Volume 34, Issue 4, 34(4):704–714.
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