Ibuprofen elimination from water and wastewater using sonication/ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide/zeolite-titanate photocatalyst system.

The present investigation was designed to remove ibuprofen from aqueous solutions and wastewater by activating hydrogen peroxide using ultrasonication (US)/ultraviolet (UV) radiation/zeolite-titanium. The physical-chemical properties of the photocatalyst were determined using BET, FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and EDX-mapping techniques. The titanium oxide crystal size and the catalyst BET were determined to be 4.97 nm and 39.88 m2/g, respectively. Tests were performed in a reactor (with a volume of 316 mL) located in an ultrasonic bath to intensify reactions. The synergistic impact of the components of the UV/US/H2O2/Photocatalyst system was explored. The maximum efficiency (99.58%) was obtained at H2O2 concentration of 0.05 mM, pH 5, UV power of 6 W, photo-catalyst dose of 1 g/L, and contact time of 100 min. The pH variable was more effective than the other parameters. Ions of NO3-, Cl-, and SO42- had a slightly negative effect on contaminant removal efficiency. The ibuprofen removal (based on COD) from urban water and hospital wastewater was attained 77.82% and 66.24%, respectively. The ibuprofen removal by the developed system followed the first-order kinetic. The results show that the system has high efficiency and reasonable costs (with treatment cost of 6.25 €/m3) for ibuprofen decontamination.