Pharmaceutical wastewater treatment by modified photocatalytic membrane

Seyedeh Fatemeh Zakeritabar Amiri¹ Majid Peyravi² Mohsen Jahanshahi³ javad akhtari⁴

1) Nanotechnology Research Institute, Babol University of Technology,
2) Nanotechnology Research Institute, Babol University of Technology,
3) Nanotechnology Research Institute, Babol University of Technology,
4) Mazandaran University of Medical Science,

Publication : 3rd International conference on sustainable development, strategies and challenges With a focus on Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism(3icsda.ir)
Abstract :
Effective and sustainable treatment of hospital wastewater containing high concentration of pharmaceutical compounds presents a pivotal challenge to wastewater and environmental engineers worldwide. The coupling of membrane separation and photocatalytic oxidation has been studied for the removal of pharmaceutical pollutants. In this study polysulfone (PSf) membranes were modified with ZrO2-SnO2 nanocomposite (0_0.1 wt%) via phase inversion method for ultrafiltration to treat and enhance the biodegradability of a representative pharmaceutical compound, 32 g/L of Betahistine(BHN), in synthetic pharmaceutical wastewater. All synthesized membranes were tested with and without UV irradiation to evaluate the effect of UV irradiation on membrane flux and degradation efficiency. The flux of membranes with UV radiation was increased by membrane soaked at 0.1% wt nanocomposite in water bath. And its degradation efficiency with and without UV irradiation increased from 76% to 84%.
Keywords : ZrO2-SnO2 nanocomposite; photocatalytic membrane; pharmaceutical compounds