Combating paraben pollution in surface waters with a variety of photocatalyzed systems: Looking for the most efficient technology

• Published in: Open Chemistry Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 1317 - 1327
• Main Authors: Dominguez, Joaquin R., Gonzalez, Teresa, Cuerda-Correa, Eduardo M., Muñoz-Peña, Maria J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 01-01-2019
• Subjects: Parabens pollution; photo-assisted Fenton; Remediation Systems; Surface-waters; Water Treatment
• ISSN: 2391-5420; 2391-5420
• DOI: 10.1515/chem-2019-0133

The constant presence of parabens in natural surface waters has raised a growing concern of the potential long-term toxic effects that parabens may have in wildlife, mainly as endocrine disruptors. The present report describes the results of a study in which different photocatalyzed systems, such as photo-Fenton, Fenton, UV-H
, UV-TiO
and UV-TiO
-H
, were applied to the removal of these recalcitrant pollutants in some surface waters, including natural (e.g. rivers) and man-made (e.g. reservoirs and wastewater treatment plants). Degradation of four widely-used parabens (methyl-paraben, ethyl-paraben, propyl-paraben and butyl-paraben) was analyzed. Experimental results reveal that the most efficient method to combat these emerging pollutants was photo-Fenton. When this process was optimized, optimal removal efficiency was attained using doses of H
and Fe(II) equal to 2.92·10
mol dm
and 1.85·10
mol dm
, respectively. It is also worth noting that the removal rate of these contaminants is slower in natural waters. The results suggest that the photo-Fenton process is promising and maybe an adequate technology for the treatment of these persistent contaminants.