TiO_2 CATALYZED PHOTOCATALYTIC MINERALIZATION OF AMOXICILLIN FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION: POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF HOMBIKAT N10

摘要

The antibiotics present in aqueous waste streams can cause several problems, and amoxicillin, an antibiotic found in such streams cannot be biologically treated. Thus, the removal or degradation of these compounds is needed to provide clean and pure potable water for consumers. Advanced oxidation processes such as photocatalysis can be used as a promising technology for the degradation of such recalcitrant organic compounds. In this research, the photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin was studied using different compositions of TiO_2 photocatalyst for water and wastewater treatment applications. Hombikat N10, a new photocatalyst, was found to be very efficient. The results of the present study clearly indicate that Hombikat N10 can be efficiently used for the degradation and mineralization of amoxicillin. The photocatalyst Hombikat N10, with an anatase/rutile ratio of 97/3, showed enhanced activity among the other TiO_2 catalysts of different compositions.