Photocatalyst production from wasted sediment and quality improvement with titanium dioxide to remove cephalexin in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ultrasonic waves: A cost-effective technique.

Abstract

In this study, wasted sediment (sludge waste from shipping docks) was coupled with titanium isopropoxide by the thermal and sol-gel method as a new photocatalyst. The sediment-titanate catalyst alongside ultrasonic and UV was activated hydrogen peroxide to produce OH radicals and decompose cephalexin (CEP). The photocatalyst was crystalline with 52.29\xa0m2/g BET area. The best destruction rate of 87.01% based on COD test was achieved at optimal conditions (pH: 8, cephalexin concentration: 100\xa0mg/L, H2O2: 1.63\xa0mg/L, UV: 15\xa0W/m2, ultrasonication time: 100\xa0min at 40\xa0kHz, photocatalyst quantity: 1.5\xa0g/L). The trend of anions effect was NO3-\xa0≤\xa0SO42- ≤\xa0Cl-. Decomposition of cephalexin in water solution followed the first-order kinetics (k\xa0>\xa00.01 min-1, R2\xa0>\xa00.9). The percentage of cephalexin removal from urban water (76%) and hospital wastewater (63%) has decreased compared to the distilled water solution (87%), which is probably due to the presence of radical inhibitors. The consumed electrical energy of the studied system was calculated by 0.031\xa0kW/h. The developed system is a promising and economical method to remove cephalexin.