Using titanium oxide membranes and ultraviolet (UV) light to remove pharmaceutical waste from hospitals wastewater

Abstract

In recent years, the accumulation of pharmaceutical waste has become a major global concern; diclofenac sodium is one of these drugs that commonly used as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. the conventional wastewater treatment and drinking water production processes used to remove pharmaceutical waste from liquid waste before discharge, but  it is not efficient to remove a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds. TiO₂ nanofilm membranes were used on fixed glass panels as an alternative to the traditional form to assess its efficiency in removing pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater. In this study, the effect of TiO2 thin films as a photocatalyst for oxidation has been studied in removing diclofenac sodium from contaminated water Through studying the effect of reaction time and pH value. The reaction time varied from 0 to 120  minutes with different concentrations of diclofenac sodium samples (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm).  There was noticeable effect in the first 10 minutes and a rapid removal of diclofenac sodium concentration in the sample at a rate of (20%). Also Changing pH value affects the removal rate of diclofenac sodium, it was observed that the lower pH value, the higher the removal of diclofenac sodium.