Water is a vital resource for all life beings on earth. Nowadays, pharmaceutical compounds occurrence in drinking water is growing due to the booming pharmaceutical industrialization and dramatic increase in the global population. Ibuprofen (IBP) (C₁₃H₁₈O₂) is one of the most common pharmaceutical products that can be found in wastewater. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and is also considered an emerging pollutant that may contaminate surface and underground water. Different water treatment technologies are employed nowadays to mitigate the presence of these pollutants in water bodies. Photodegradation using nanomaterials is considered one of the most sustainable and cheap technologies that can be used in water purification. In this study, the photodegradation efficiency of CeO₂ nanostructured materials towards ibuprofen was assessed under UV irradiation. CeO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared through wet-chemical synthesis and characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, DLS, and UV-Vis DRS techniques. The photodegradation activity of the synthesized CeO₂-NPs was compared to the commercial Aeroxide TiO₂-P25. Moreover, the photodegradation performance of CeO₂-NPs was investigated under different operational parameters, namely, air flow rate, stirring rate, temperature, catalyst bulk density, and ibuprofen solution initial concentration. Reusability of CeO₂-NPs and kinetic modeling were also addressed. The characterization results confirmed the successful synthesis of CeO₂-NPs. It was also found that the performance of Aeroxide TiO₂-P25 is slightly better than that for CeO₂-NPs. The goodness of the kinetic modeling of the experimental data was proven through the estimated kinetic parameters, together with the statistical information. On the other hand, reusability and stability tests showcased the sustainability of these NPs.

Conference Title

Merck Young Chemists' Symposium 2022

Conference Country

Italy

Conference Date

Oct. 21, 2021 - Oct. 23, 2021

Conference Sponsor

https://www.soc.chim.it/sci_giovani/eventi/congressi/mycs2022

Additional Info

Conference Website