Development and performance evaluation of photo Electro-Fenton process for treatment and mineralization of ibuprofen from hospital wastewater

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), one of the analgesic drugs, are the most consumed medications all over the world [1]. The wastewater with NSAIDs is derived from its production, unused medicine disposal and human and animal medical care. In particular, ibuprofen (IBP) is regarded as one of the most used NSAIDs. IBP is a persistent pollutant because it cannot be completely eliminated during wastewater treatment which usually inhibited biological degradation [2]. Thus, it is an emerging issue to remove IBP effectively from wastewaters before discharging them. The central composite design was used to enhance the removal efficiency of IBP by response surface methodology (RSM). The experiments were done under four levels of various operational parameters. The initial concentration of IBP was varied among 1 to 10 mg.L-1, current density range from 1 to 5 mA.cm-2, H2O2 ranging from 100 to 200 µL.L-1, and reaction time ranging from 5 to 30 minute. The obtained results using photo electro Fenton (PEF) technique showed that more than 100% of IBP was mineralization under optimum condition of the initial concentration of IBP 7.2 mg.L-1, 153 µL.L-1 of H2O2, 3.0 mA.cm-2 of current density, and 23 min of reaction time. The kinetics of the process follows the pseudo first-order model with rate constants of 0.028 min−1 (R2=0.996). The PEF process as an environmentally favorable treatment method was optimized and applied successfully for efficient removal of IBP from environmental aqueous solution.