Chelating agents supported solar photo-Fenton and sunlight/H2O2 processes for pharmaceuticals removal and resistant pathogens inactivation in quaternary treatment for urban wastewater reuse

Pellegrino La Manna; Marco De Carluccio; Patrizia Iannece; Giovanni Vigliotta; Antonio Proto; Luigi Rizzo

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131235

Chelating agents supported solar photo-Fenton and sunlight/H₂O₂ processes for pharmaceuticals removal and resistant pathogens inactivation in quaternary treatment for urban wastewater reuse

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 15:452:131235. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131235. Epub 2023 Mar 20.

Authors

Pellegrino La Manna¹, Marco De Carluccio¹, Patrizia Iannece², Giovanni Vigliotta², Antonio Proto³, Luigi Rizzo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Water Science and Tecnology group (WaSTe), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy.
² Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy.
³ Environmental Chemistry Group (ECG), Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy.
⁴ Water Science and Tecnology group (WaSTe), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy. Electronic address: l.rizzo@unisa.it.

PMID: 36948125
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131235

Abstract

In this work, Fe³⁺-iminodisuccinic acid (Fe:IDS) based solar photo Fenton (SPF), an Italian patented method, was investigated in quaternary treatment of real urban wastewater and compared to Fe³⁺-ethylenediamine-N,N'-disuccinic acid (Fe:EDDS) for the first time. Three pharmaceuticals (PCs) (sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine and trimethoprim) and four pathogens (Escherichia coli, somatic and F-plus coliphages, Clostridium perfringens, consistently with the new EU regulation for wastewater reuse (2020/741)), were chosen as target pollutants. SPF with Fe:EDDS was more effective in PCs removal (80%, 10 kJ L^-1) than the SPF with Fe:IDS (58%), possibly due to the higher capability of generating hydroxyl radicals. On the contrary, Fe:IDS was more effective (4.3 log inactivation for E. coli) than Fe:EDDS (1.9 log) in pathogens inactivation, possibly due to a lower iron precipitation and turbidity which finally promoted an improved intracellular photo-Fenton mechanism. Fe:L based SPF was subsequently coupled to sunlight/H₂O₂. Interestingly, while its combination with Fe:EDDS based SPF slightly increased disinfectant efficacy (2.3 vs 1.9 log inactivation for E. coli), the combination with Fe:IDS decreased inactivation efficiency (3.4 vs 4.3 log reduction). In conclusion, due to the good compromise between PCs removal and disinfection efficiency, Fe:IDS SPF alone is an attractive option for quaternary treatment for urban wastewater reuse.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation processes; Contaminants of emerging concern; Natural pH; Photo-Fenton like; Viruses.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Chelating Agents
Escherichia coli
Hydrogen Peroxide
Oxidation-Reduction
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Sunlight
Wastewater*
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Wastewater
Hydrogen Peroxide
Chelating Agents
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Water Pollutants, Chemical