Hazardous waste treatment trends in the U.S.

Mineralization of Drugs in Aqueous Medium by Advanced Oxidation Processes

“…This confirms that the amount of • OH generated in the medium from Fenton's reaction (1) is much higher that that produced at the Pt surface from reaction (3). The initial nitrogen of paracetamol is lost in the form of NH 4 + ion, which is quickly accumulated during the early stages of all treatments, as can be seen in Fig. 9a.…”

“…A minor portion of NO 3 -is also formed, as detected by ion chromatography. Note that higher NH 4 + concentration is produced with increasing the oxidation ability of the method, due to the faster mineralization of some N-containing intermediates at the early stages of the degradation process. Reversed-phase chromatograms of treated paracetamol solutions displayed peaks related to hydroquinone and p-benzoquinone as main primary products.…”

“…To avoid the dangerous accumulation of drugs in the aquatic environment, research efforts are underway to develop powerful oxidation methods that can be applied to ensure their complete destruction from natural waters and wastewaters. Although different isolation, physical separation, biological and chemical methods can be utilized [4], the most promising techniques are the so-called advanced oxidation processes based on the in situ generation of hydroxyl radical (…”