Tratamento do poluente emergente 17α-etinilestradiol utilizando processo oxidativo avançado foto-fenton

Abstract

In the last decades, many studies have focused on the contamination of water by organic micropollutants, including emerging contaminants, such as: pharmaceutical products and hormones. Conventional methods of water treatment are inefficient, as it allows the transfer of these contaminants to the environment. The advanced oxidation process is a treatment that allows to treat water contaminated by these pollutants. An alternative is hydrogen peroxide, together with the Fe2+ catalyst activated by UV-visible light, in which the hydroxyl radical is formed, and these radical attacks the contaminant molecules, transforming it into harmless products. Therefore, this study aims to treat water contaminated with the synthetic hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol, using hydrogen peroxide with Fe2+ activated by UV irradiation, emitted by a 40W black lamp, and pH equal to 3. After several analyzes, the best result was obtained using a ratio of 20 mmolar hydrogen peroxide to 0.75 mmolar Fe2+, degrading 97% of 17α-ethinylestradiol after 60 minutes of reaction. Other conclusion is that the high concentration of peroxide can form undesirable radicals (reducers) for the oxidation of EE2, thus reducing the amount of hydroxyl radicals formed, making the system less reactive and consequently reducing the efficiency of degradation.