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Study of continuous ozonation using a venturi system of an effluent contaminated with pharmaceuticals: Ibuprofen, sodium diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole

Abstract:

The use of ozone in water treatment is considered an advanced oxidation process (AOPs) because •OH radicals can be generated, depending on the water conditions. Since ozone is a gas, it has a limited mass transfer in a liquid, which depends on the applied system. In this study, we used a Venturi to inject ozone during the treatment of solutions prepared with three commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals: ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory), sodium diclofenac (analgesic) and sulfamethoxazole (antibiotic). We evaluated the effects of pH, alkalinity, the effluent flow rate and the number of recycles on the degradation of the pharmaceuticals during the ozonation. Under the best conditions of treatment, removals of 80.90% of sulfamethoxazole, 84.38% of sodium diclofenac and 44.26% of ibuprofen were reached. These and other drugs are currently classified as emerging pollutants, and the effect of their accumulation during the water cycle has not been clearly determined yet. This research presents an alternative for the treatment of effluents contaminated with these products.