Search

Pharmaceutical contaminants are frequently encountered at trace concentrations in various environmental ecosystems. This study introduces a significant approach to water treatment and environmental remediation by combining liquid membrane and ozonation. Initially, diclofenac is transported across the supported liquid membrane using a neutral organic extractant Cyanex 923. The highest removal efficiency was achieved with a 40 % concentration of Cyanex923 dissolved in kerosene, resulting in a permeability of 10.2 cm/h. Additionally, diclofenac is extracted from different environmental matrices such as tap water and real effluent of wastewater, and the effect of ions species was studied. The post-ozonation in the stripping phase resulted in removal of pharmaceuticals and 72 % reduction of total organic carbon at pH = 10 and 45.3 g/Nm3 initial ozone concentration. The study also investigates the identification and tracking of the most prevalent by-product of diclofenac over time., This project has been supported by the grant PID2021-126895OB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. The authors research group is recognized by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca, DIUE de la Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 396), and supported by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2021PFR-URV-87) and Marti Franques grant 2019PMF-PIPF-81., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Pharmaceutical compounds present in water pose significant challenges, particularly due to their low concentrations in water streams. Hollow fiber liquid membranes provide a flexible and easily manageable solution, enabling the concentration of specific contaminants. This concentration step significantly improves their effective removal from water systems. The study focused on using hollow fiber liquid membrane technology to effectively remove diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBU), two pharmaceutical compounds. A concentration of 40% Cyanex 923 (Cy923) dissolved in kerosene was selected as the preferred extractant due to its stability and quick extraction properties. The stability of the system was tested with a pseudo-emulsion, enabling repeated use of the system. Additionally, an analytical model was developed to calculate the membrane's permeability. In order to enhance the degradation and mineralization of the pharmaceutical compounds and their byproducts, ozonation was integrated with the hollow fiber liquid membrane system in a single system. Measurement of total organic carbon (TOC) revealed a significant reduction of 72% for diclofenac and 57% for ibuprofen with an initial ozone concentration of 10 mg/L and operating under the optimal conditions of hollow fiber liquid membrane., This project has been supported by the grant PID2021–126895OB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. The authors research group is recognized by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca, DIUE de la Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 396), and supported by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2021PFR-URV-87) and Marti Franques grant 2019PMF-PIPF-81., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Carbon-based membranes integrated with anaerobic biodegradation are presented as a unique wastewater treatment approach to deal with dye effluents. This study explores the scope of ceramic-supported carbon membrane bioreactors (B-CSCM) and ceramic-supported graphene oxide membrane bioreactors (B-CSGOM) to decolorize azo dye mixtures (ADM) and other dyes. The mixture was prepared using an equimolar composition of monoazo Acid Orange 7, diazo Reactive Black 5, and triazo Direct Blue 71 dye aqueous solution. Afterwards, as in the ADM experiment, both compact units were investigated for their ability in the biodecolorization of Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dye solutions, which do not belong to the azo family. The obtained outcomes revealed that the conductive surface of the graphene oxide (GO) membrane resulted in a more efficient and higher color removal of all dye solutions than B-CSCM under a wide feed concentration and permeate flux ranges. The maximum color removal at low feed concentration (50 mg·L-1) and permeate flux (0.05 L·m-2·h-1) was 96% for ADM, 98% for MB and 94% for RhB, whereas it was 89%, 94% and 66%, respectively, for B-CSCM. This suggests that the robust, cost-effective, efficient nanostructures of B-CSGOM can successfully remove diverse azo dye solutions from wastewater better than the B-CSCM does., This project has been supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713679 and by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), contract 2017MFP-COFUND-18. This article was possible thanks to the grant RTI2018-096467-B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF A way of making Europe”. The authors research group is recognized by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca, DIUE de la Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 396), and supported by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2021PFR-URV-87)., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)