Title: Effectiveness of Fenton oxidation for the removal of paracetamol and diclofenac from aqueous medium: effect of operational parameters

Authors: Lahiouel Salih; Ounoki Samira; Achour Samira

Addresses: Research Laboratory Underground and Surface Hydraulic (LARHYSS), Hydraulic and Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, M.K. University of Biskra, POB 145 RP, 07000, Algeria ' Research Laboratory Underground and Surface Hydraulic (LARHYSS), Hydraulic and Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, M.K. University of Biskra, POB 145 RP, 07000, Algeria ' Research Laboratory Underground and Surface Hydraulic (LARHYSS), Hydraulic and Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, M.K. University of Biskra, POB 145 RP, 07000, Algeria

Abstract: The current amount of Algerian safe water supplies is very small and is threatened by an ever-growing population of urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater, including a wide range of organic contaminants, such as pharmaceutical residues characterised by harmful effects on environment and human health. The purpose of this work is to study the efficacy of Fenton oxidation in the removal of paracetamol and diclofenac in distilled water in which various operating conditions have been varied. The obtained results show that Fenton oxidation is very efficient in removing paracetamol with a yield of 77%; however, for diclofenac is estimated at 32.6%. Paracetamol removal is preferred in a very acidic medium (pH = 2), while diclofenac is well removed in a weakly acidic medium. The ferrous iron content ranges between 5 mg/L and 10 mg/L for paracetamol, while it is equivalent to 5 mg/L for diclofenac. The Fenton process appears to be an efficient process for the treatment of pharmaceutical residues.

Keywords: emerging contaminants; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; analgesic; advanced oxidation; hydrogen peroxide; ferrous sulphate; pH.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2022.123641

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2022 Vol.14 No.1, pp.96 - 108

Received: 25 Feb 2020
Accepted: 12 Oct 2020
Published online: 30 Jun 2022 *

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