Ultrasonic degradation of acetaminophen and naproxen in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Jong Kwon Im, Jiyong Heo, Linkel K. Boateng, Namguk Her, Joseph R.V. Flora, Jaekyung Yoon, Kyung Duk Zoh, Yeomin Yoon

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74 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ultrasonic (US) and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-catalyzed ultrasonic (US/SWNT) degradation of a pharmaceutical (PhAC) mixture of acetaminophen (AAP) and naproxen (NPX) used as analgesics was carried out in water. In the absence of SWNTs, maximum degradations of AAP and NPX occurred at a high frequency (1000kHz) and under acidic conditions (pH 3) and different solution temperatures (25°C at 28kHz and 35°C at 1000kHz) during US reactions. Rapid degradation of PhACs occurred within 10min at 28kHz (44.5% for AAP; 90.3% for NPX) and 1000kHz (39.2% for AAP; 74.8% for NPX) at a SWNT concentration of 45mgL-1 under US/SWNT process, compared with 28kHz (5.2% for AAP; 10.6% for NPX) and 1000kHz (29.1% for AAP; 46.2% for NPX) under US process. Degradation was associated with the dispersion of SWNTs; small particles acted as nuclei during US reactions, enhancing the H2O2 production yield. NPX removal was greater than AAP removal under all US-induced reaction and SWNT adsorption conditions, which is governed by the chemical properties of PhACs. Based on the results, the optimal treatment performance was observed at 28kHz with 45mgL-1 SWNTs (US/SWNT) within 10min.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)284-292
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume254-255
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jun 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Korea Ministry of Environment , ‘GAIA Project, 2012000550022’ and by the International Research & Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) of Korea (No. 2012K1A3A1A12054908 ).

Keywords

  • Acetaminophen
  • Hydrogen peroxide
  • Luminal
  • Naproxen
  • Single-walled carbon nanotubes
  • Sonolysis

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