EVALUATION OF Fe3O4/WO3/Mg Al HDL COMPOSITES FOR ACETAMINOPHENE DEGRADATION VIA THE PHOTOCATALYTIC ADVANCED OXIDATIVE PROCESS

• Grant number: 24/12752-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Domingues Muniz de Souza
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Contaminants of emerging concern are released into the environment from domestic, hospital and industrial effluents, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products, surfactants, hormones and industrial compounds, among others. Due to their toxicity and environmental impacts, special treatment of the effluent is necessary in order to avoid poisoning living beings, ecological imbalances and possible harmful effects on human health. Among the various options for treating effluents impacted by such contaminants, advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) have stood out as a promising alternative, due to the photogeneration of reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radicals and others. In this context, this project seeks to synthesize Fe3O4/WO3/Mg Al HDL (double lamellar hydroxide) composites in order to synergistically combine the properties of each component for the photocatalytic degradation of an emerging pollutant selected as a model, acetaminophen. In this way, we hope to deepen our understanding of the activity of the materials and propose new applications for photocatalytic heterojunctions supported on HDL for the decomposition of emerging pollutants.