Degradation characteristics of refractory organic matter in naproxen pharmaceutical secondary effluent using vacuum ultraviolet–ozone treatment

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2023-10, Vol.459, p.132056-132056, Article 132056
• Main Authors: Feng, Xianlu, Sun, Dezhi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Molecular characterization; Pharmaceutical secondary effluent; Reactive species generation; Refractory organic degradation; Vacuum ultraviolet–ozone process
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132056

Vacuum ultraviolet–ozone (VUV-O3) treatment was found to be superior to ultraviolet–ozone (UV-O3) treatment in terms of ozone utilization and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generation when used to treat the secondary effluent (SE) from a naproxen pharmaceutical plant. VUV-O3 treatment was beneficial in terms of decolorization (100%), chemical oxygen demand removal (43.29%), and total organic carbon removal (54.81%). The VUV-O3 process was applicable over a wide pH range, and the presence of various anions had no significant influence on the oxidation efficiency. After treatment, the genotoxicity, unsaturation degree, and polarity of the SE decreased. In addition, the oxidation sensitivities of the fluorescent organic compounds were ranked as follows: humic acid-like > tyrosine-like > fulvic acid-like > tryptophan-like Moreover, the VUV-O3 process effectively converted refractory organic matter (molecular weights, MW > 2000 Da) into short-chain molecules with low MWs. The removal efficiency of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was 63.27%, and 77.27% of the DOM was found to be reactive to VUV-O3 oxidation. The unsaturation, polarity, and compositional complexity of the DOM decreased after VUV-O3 treatment. Finally, it was deduced that the direct O3 oxidation,·OH, O2·− and 1O2 played a role in the VUV-O3 oxidation process. [Display omitted] •VUV-O3 is superior to UV-O3 in ozone utilization and·OH generation.•VUV-O3 effectively degrades refractory organics in secondary effluent (SE).•Transformation and degradation of dissolved organic matter were investigated.•VUV-O3 oxidation decreased the complexity, unsaturation, and polarity of SE.•Direct O3 oxidation,·OH, O2·− and 1O2 contributed to VUV-O3 oxidation.