Ultrasound and Ultraviolet Activated Persulfate Oxidation for the Removal of Paracetamol from Water
摘要
This study evaluated the efficacy of ultrasound (US), ultraviolet (UV), and US-UV activated persulfate (US/PS, UV/PS) oxidation for the removal of 10 mg.L−1 paracetamol (PCT) from deionized water under ambient pH (6.0–6.8). US was applied at fixed 60 W power with frequencies of 575, 861, and 1141 kHz in a 250 mL batch system where UV irradiation was conducted in a tubular reactor with a UV lamp at 254 nm with 21W power input. PCT concentrations were quantified via HPLC with UV detection, and mineralization was assessed using a TOC-Vcpn analyzer via the NPOC method. US alone achieved 18% PCT removal, increasing to 38% with persulfate (PS) addition. UV irradiation alone led to 14% removal, while UV/PS treatment achieved 75% removal within 60 min, accompanied by a temperature rise from 24 °C to 28 °C. Under PS molar ratios of 1:20, PCT removal reached to 93% and mineralization was calculated as 73% after 55 min. GC–MS results identified transformation products, with key intermediates showing structural similarity (59–90%) to compounds including 9-Nonylphenyl-3,6,9-trioxanonanol (C21H36O4), Cyclobuta[1,2:3,4]dicyclooctene hexadecahydro- (C16H28) and 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester (C24H38O4). The toxicity tests revealed the EC50 concentration as 26.68% after treatment. The findings indicate that US/UV-based PS activation offer a promising strategy for PCT degradation in aqueous environment.