Effects of the Water Matrix on the Degradation of Micropollutants by a Photocatalytic Ceramic Membrane

“The consumption of pharmaceuticals has increased the presence of micropollutants (MPs) in the environment. The removal and degradation of pharmaceutical mixtures in different water matrices are thus of significant importance. The photocatalytic degradation of four micropollutants—diclofenac (DCF), iopamidol (INN), methylene blue (MB), and metoprolol (MTP)—have been analyzed in this study by using a photocatalytic ceramic membrane. We experimentally analyzed the degradation rate by using several water matrices by changing the feed composition of micropollutants in the mixture (from mg· L (Formula presented.) to (Formula presented.) g·L (Formula presented.)), adding different concentrations of inorganic compounds (NaHCO3 and NaCl), and by using tap water. A maximum degradation of 97% for DCF and MTP, and 85% for INN was observed in a micropollutants (MPs) mixture in tap water at environmentally relevant feed concentrations [1–6 (Formula presented.) g·L (Formula presented.)] (Formula presented.) and 86% for MB in an MPs mixture [1–3 mg·L (Formula presented.)] (Formula presented.) with 100 mg·L (Formula presented.) of NaCl. This work provides further insights into the applicability of photocatalytic membranes and illustrates the importance of the water matrix to the photocatalytic degradation of micropollutants.”

(Citation: Heredia Deba, S.A., Wols, B.A., Yntema, D.R., et.al. – Effects of the Water Matrix on the Degradation of Micropollutants by a Photocatalytic Ceramic Membrane – Membranes 12(2022)10, art. no. 1004 – DOI: 10.3390/membranes12101004 – (Open Access))

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors 2022)