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

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>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<SUP>−1</SUP> 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 H<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB> 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<SUP>−1</SUP> SWNTs (US/SWNT) within 10min.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Sonodegradation of acetaminophen and naproxen was performed. </LI> <LI> Degradation was enhanced with the dispersion of SWNTs under US irradiation. </LI> <LI> Synergistic effect on the degradation PhACs was observed in US/SWNT process. </LI> <LI> Significant removal of dissolved organic carbon was achieved. </LI> </UL> </P>