Utilização de metodologias fotolíticas e fotocatalíticas para a remoção de cefalexina em solução aquosa

Abstract

The removal of contaminants in aquatic environments must be performed by means of suitable treatment processes to ensure that water resources are not compromised because of this contamination. It is found that processes employing light have shown good results in the degradation of emergent contaminants. In this sense, this study aimed to determine the best photodegradation conditions of cephalexin antibiotic (CFX) in aqueous solution, using Advanced Oxidative Processes - AOP (UV, UV / H2O2, UV / H2O2 / TiO2 and UV / H2O2 / ZnO). In photocatalysis tests, the variables were organized in an experimental design to verify the influence of each variable in the degradation process, and the experimental results were evaluated using the statistical software Statistica®. It was observed from the analysis of the results that the best conditions for the degradations process were [H2O2] = 1000 mg L-1 and [TiO2] = 50 mg L-1 at pH 4 after two hours of irradiation.