Magnetite nanoparticle mediated ozonation of ciprofloxacin wastewater: energy calculation and optimization of parameters

Abstract

This study focuses on synthesizing a catalyst that can quickly degrade micropollutants in water with minimal ozone exposure. While ozone is an effective oxidizing agent, it can harm the environment at higher concentrations if released in gaseous form. Thus, due to their efficiency and non-toxicity, researchers prefer to use hydroxyl radicals as oxidizing agents. In this study, Fe magnetite nanoparticles (FeNPs) have been synthesized to generate hydroxyl radicals for ozonation. The stability and effectiveness of the FeNPs as an ozonation catalyst were tested under different pH levels and ozone doses. Promising results have been obtained showing complete degradation of the model pharmaceutical compound within 10 min for the catalytic ozonation process. The parameters have been optimized for the holistic picture of the process, and their significance on the % degradation has been evaluated thoroughly. The energy requirement of the process has been evaluated to compare the proposed work with the available AOPs. It was found that the heterogenous catalytic ozonation process projects a much lower energy requirement as compared to many other AOPs.