Chapter 13
Photocatalytic Degradation
of Chlorophenols and Antibiotics from
Wastewater
Cristina Orbeci, Constantin Bobirică, and Liliana Bobirică
Contents
13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
13.2 Refractory Organic Compounds: Chlorophenols and Antibiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
13.3 Advanced Oxidation Process Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
13.4 Photocatalytic Degradation of Chlorophenols and Antibiotics from Wastewater . . . . . . 418
13.4.1 Materials and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
13.4.2 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
13.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Abstract In recent years, refractory organic compounds have attracted increasing
attention due to the difficulties with which they are removed from waste effluents.
The use of advanced oxidation processes alone or in combination with biological
processes in wastewater treatment plants represents viable alternatives for removing
refractory organic contaminants. Of the advanced oxidation processes,
photocatalytic oxidation seems to have the highest potential and therefore has been
intensively tested for the removal of many types of refractory organic contaminants.
Therefore, the objective of this work is to explore the potential of photocatalytic
oxidation for the removal of chlorophenols and antibiotics from wastewater. Several
types of photocatalytic membranes have been tested. The experimental results
revealed that the rate of photocatalytic degradation is higher in the case of cobalt
(Co)-doped TiO 2 /polymer membrane comparative with that of TiO 2 /Ti for both
4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, regardless of their concentration. Moreover,
the degradation rate of 4-chlorphenol is higher than that of 2,4-dichlorophenol,
regardless of the type of photocatalytic membrane used. Regarding the
photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotics studied, by using the new obtained
TiO 2 /sisal fiber membrane, the photocatalytic degradation after 120 minutes of
C. Orbeci (*) · C. Bobirică · L. Bobirică
Department of Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, University Politehnica of
Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Photocatalysis,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 57,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54723-3_13
411
Photocatalytic Degradation
of Chlorophenols and Antibiotics from
Wastewater
Cristina Orbeci, Constantin Bobirică, and Liliana Bobirică
Contents
13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
13.2 Refractory Organic Compounds: Chlorophenols and Antibiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
13.3 Advanced Oxidation Process Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
13.4 Photocatalytic Degradation of Chlorophenols and Antibiotics from Wastewater . . . . . . 418
13.4.1 Materials and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
13.4.2 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
13.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Abstract In recent years, refractory organic compounds have attracted increasing
attention due to the difficulties with which they are removed from waste effluents.
The use of advanced oxidation processes alone or in combination with biological
processes in wastewater treatment plants represents viable alternatives for removing
refractory organic contaminants. Of the advanced oxidation processes,
photocatalytic oxidation seems to have the highest potential and therefore has been
intensively tested for the removal of many types of refractory organic contaminants.
Therefore, the objective of this work is to explore the potential of photocatalytic
oxidation for the removal of chlorophenols and antibiotics from wastewater. Several
types of photocatalytic membranes have been tested. The experimental results
revealed that the rate of photocatalytic degradation is higher in the case of cobalt
(Co)-doped TiO 2 /polymer membrane comparative with that of TiO 2 /Ti for both
4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, regardless of their concentration. Moreover,
the degradation rate of 4-chlorphenol is higher than that of 2,4-dichlorophenol,
regardless of the type of photocatalytic membrane used. Regarding the
photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotics studied, by using the new obtained
TiO 2 /sisal fiber membrane, the photocatalytic degradation after 120 minutes of
C. Orbeci (*) · C. Bobirică · L. Bobirică
Department of Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, University Politehnica of
Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Photocatalysis,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 57,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54723-3_13
411