Combined advanced oxidation processes for the synergistic degradation of ibuprofen in aqueous environments

Abstract

Ibuprofen (IBP) is a widely used analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug and has been found as a pollutant in aqueous environments. The sonolytic, photocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic degradations of IBP in the presence of homogeneous (Fe3+) and heterogeneous photocatalysts (TiO2) were studied. When compared with sonolysis and photocatalysis, a higher degradation rate was observed for sonophotocatalysis in the presence of TiO2 or Fe3+ and also a slight synergistic enhancement was found with a synergy index of 1.3 and 1.6, respectively. Even though TiO2 sonophotocatalysis showed an additive process effect in the mineralization, a significant synergy effect was observed for the sonophotocatalysi..