Study on the evaluation of UV/S2O8/TiO2 and UV/H2O2/TiO2 process efficiency for degradation of antibiotics from aqueous solutions

Abstract

In this study, the photocatalytic effect of decomposition of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) using UV/S₂O₈/TiO₂ and UV/H₂O₂/TiO₂ systems was evaluated under the influence of different conditions, including the effects of Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ cations and NO₃^-, Cl^-, and SO₄^2- anions. The results indicate that about 82.36% SMX was removed after 180 minutes of lighting using UV/S2O8/TiO2 catalytic system. In addition, the results also showed that anion and cation have a strong influence on photocatalytic activity of SMX decomposition on UV/S₂O₈/TiO₂ system. The photocatalytic activity slightly increased in the presence of Cl^- anion and Na⁺ cation, and about 89.78% SMX was removed after 180 minutes of illumination Meanwhile, SMX degradation photocatalytic activity significantly reduced in the presence of SO₄^2-anion and K⁺ cation, approximately 53.70%, and 60.73% SMX were removed after the180 minutes of lighting in the appearance of SO₄^2- anion and K⁺ cation, respectively.