Degradation of the antibiotic sulfamethazine by heterogeneous photocatalysis

• Grant number: 13/00548-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira
• Grantee: Andressa Cristina Gonçalves Laranjeiro
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) have been presented in recent years as an alternative to conventional techniques applied to the treatment of water and wastewater contaminated with pharmaceutical compounds, an emerging class of pollutants whose environmental impacts and consequences on human health are still poorly understood. This project aims to study the degradation of the antibiotic sulfamethazine (SMT), a sulfonamide, by means of the photo-oxidative heterogeneous process using TiO2 as a photocatalyst. The experiments will be carried out in a bench scale under UV and UV-visible radiation. The process performance and the effects of variables involved in each case will be evaluated from time-measurements of antibiotic concentration (using high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC), total organic carbon (TOC) and toxicity. Statistical response surface models and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) kinetic models will be obtained from experimental results and interpreted in the perspective of the literature. (AU)