Development and study of a photoelectrocatalytic reactor applied for the degradation of pharmaceutical compounds

• Grant number: 23/03168-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 10, 2023
• End date: May 01, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lucia Helena Mascaro Sales
• Grantee: Roberta Yonara Nascimento Reis
• Supervisor: Manuel Andrés Rodrigo Rodrigo
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real (UCLM), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/11326-0 - Study of copper and copper oxide photoelectrodes for wastewater treatment after the COVID-19 pandemic, BP.DR

Abstract

Semiconductor oxides have been shown to be efficient in removing recalcitrant organic compounds from effluents when used as anodes in electrochemical systems. The combination of oxides has been a strategy to improve the photoactivity of anodes and the rates of degradation of organic compounds. In addition, the combination of electrochemical procedures and technologies that promote the generation of oxidants capable of assisting in the treatment of these compounds have shown promising results. Therefore, the objective of this work involves studying a photoelectrocatalytic reactor for efficient degradation with a high rate of removal and mineralization of pharmaceutical compounds using tungsten oxide electrodes and a mixture of tungsten oxide and carbon nitride. The electrodes will be produced from the deposition by chemical bath of the material in titanium mesh. The photoactivity of the oxide electrodes alone and in combination will be evaluated from the degradation of sulfamethoxazole and dexamethasone. Process parameters will be studied, such as applied potential, reactor flow, drug concentration and irradiation source. The use of flow reactors and the combination of oxidizing processes will be studied with the aim of increasing the efficiency of antibiotic degradation and proposing a new method of treating effluents. Finally, the system will be applied to samples of current effluents containing the drugs to verify the possibility of use in large reactors. Pollutant degradation will be monitored by measurements of total organic carbon (TOC) and chromatography (HPLC). The results will be compared to those obtained in Brazil. So far, photocatalytic degradations of drugs have been carried out in bench cells with conventional design and there is still no adequate reactor configuration to carry out large-scale degradations using the coupling of oxidation techniques. Thus, the experiments carried out in the research group of Professor Manuel Andrés Rodrigo Rodrigo, from the University of Castilla La Mancha, will be of fundamental importance both for the development of new technologies and for the consolidation of this line of research in Brazil. (AU)