Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin by UV Light Using N-Doped TiO2 in Suspension and Coated Forms

Abstract

The presence of organic compounds such as ciprofloxacin in untreated pharmaceutical wastewater often poses a serious health risk to human and aquatic life when discharged into water bodies. One of the most effective means of removing ciprofloxacin from wastewater is photocatalytic degradation. However, the synthesis of an effective photocatalyst that can degrade the organic pollutant in the wastewater is often a challenge. Hence, this study focuses on the synthesis and application of nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2) in suspension and coated forms for the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin in wastewater by applying UV-light irradiation. The nitrogen-doped TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by a co-precipitation process and characterized using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of the initial concentration of the ciprofloxacin (6, 12, 18, or 30 ppm), pH (3, 5, 7, or 9), and flow rate (0.4, 0.8, 0.95, or 1.5 L/min) on the degradation of the ciprofloxacin over the N-TiO2 were investigated. The results showed that the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin was enhanced by increasing the initial ciprofloxacin concentration, while it was decreased with the increase in the feed flow rate. The best operating conditions were obtained using an initial ciprofloxacin concentration of 30 ppm, pH of 5, and feed flow rate of 0.4 L/min. Under these operating conditions, removal efficiencies of 87.87% and 93.6% were obtained for net TiO2 and N-TiO2 of 5 wt% in suspension form, respectively, while 94.5% ciprofloxacin removal efficiency was obtained using coated 5 wt% N-TiO2 after 2 h of photocatalytic degradation. Based on the response surface optimization strategy, a quadratic model was suggested to obtain mathematical expressions to predict the ciprofloxacin removal efficiency under various studied operational parameters.

Current Advancements in Use of Nanoparticles Synthesized from Metal Oxides for Some Typical Prescription Antibiotics Degradation

“…Employing a 5wt% N-TiO 2 coating, aa notable ciprofloxacin removal efficiency of 94.5% was attained within a 2-hours period of photocatalytic degradation. The findings underscored that elevating the initial ciprofloxacin concentration had a positive impact on ciprofloxacin removal efficiency, while increasing the feed flow are had a diminishing effect on it 22 . The Study examined the synthesis of zinc ferrite immobilized on chitosan and its application in the photo degradation of ciprofloxacin.…”

Metal Oxide Nanostructures (MONs) as Photocatalysts for Ciprofloxacin Degradation

“…Photocatalysis has many advantages as compared to other conventional methods, namely, efficient degradation of contaminants, wastewater remediation, environmental protection, clear surface of different materials, air purification, and no secondary pollution. According to Table 1 [21,61,64,90,[95][96][97][118][119][120][121][122][123], various studies have investigated ciprofloxacin degradation in the presence of nanostructured oxide materials. Additionally, each method of obtaining these materials can improve their photocatalytic activity.…”

“…Industrial wastes produced by chemical, textile, metallurgical, and mining industries, and pharmaceutical fields are largely responsible for water contamination. Pharmaceutical products are among the most harmful contaminants of wastewater, including antibiotics which are the most dangerous organic compounds due to their wide range of use in both human and veterinary medicine [21]. Among the most common antibiotics found in wastewater, ciprofloxacin, which is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, has a top position.…”