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Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Degradation of Nevirapine in Wastewater Using the UV/TiO2/H2O2 Process

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Abstract

This work sought to study the elimination of nevirapine (NVP) from synthetic wastewater using the UV/TiO2/H2O2 system. The main objectives were to evaluate the influence of operating parameters, reaction kinetics, contributing reactive species, degradation pathway, and catalyst reusability. The research surface methodology (RSM) was utilized for optimizing process variables. Five process variables (pH, NVP concentration, TiO2 dosage, H2O2 concentration, and irradiation time) were optimized with the responses set as NVP and Total organic carbon (TOC) removals (%), respectively. 89.23% NVP and 85.71% TOC removals were achieved after 60 min of irradiation under optimum conditions. All the experimental factors were significant for NVP removal. pH was the most dominant factor, with the highest removals obtained under acidic conditions (pH 3). NVP removal conformed to the pseudo-first-order model with a rate constant (k1) of 0.03676 min− 1. Increasing pH reduced the rate constant by 75.38%, while there was an increase of 43.55% with H2O2. NVP degradation was primarily driven by the •OH and h+VB. The photocatalyst demonstrated good stability against NVP loss over four cycles. Although the UV/TiO2/H2O2 process has shown promising results in removing pharmaceuticals and dyes in wastewater, its application for the degradation of ARVs remains limited. As far as the authors know, the UV/TiO2/H2O2 process and RSM have not yet been reported for the degradation and optimization of NVP in wastewater, respectively. The findings of this work illustrate that the UV/TiO2/H2O2 system, applied with RSM optimization, can effectively degrade and mineralize NVP in wastewater.

Highlights

• The degradation of NVP in wastewater was evaluated using the UV/TiO2/H2O2 hybrid system.

• 89.23% nevirapine and 85.71% TOC removals were achieved.

• Maximum nevirapine removal was achieved at acidic pH of 3.

• Nevirapine removal adhered to pseudo-first-order kinetics with k1 of 0.0368 min− 1.

• The degradation process was controlled by •OH and h+VB.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the University of Johannesburg’s departments of Chemical Engineering and Applied Sciences for their research support. Our profound thanks go to S. Gbashi, E. Praba, and L. I. Fajimi, for their valuable contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Pauline Ncube, Mohamed Belaid & Freeman Ntuli

  2. Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Caliphs Zvinowanda

  3. Department of Chemical, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana

    Freeman Ntuli

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  1. Pauline Ncube
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Contributions

The conception and design of the study were done by all the authors. Pauline Ncube performed material preparation, experiments, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Pauline Ncube and proofread by Freeman Ntuli, Caliphs Zvinowanda, and Mohamed Belaid. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Caliphs Zvinowanda.

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Ncube, P., Zvinowanda, C., Belaid, M. et al. Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Degradation of Nevirapine in Wastewater Using the UV/TiO2/H2O2 Process. Environ. Process. 10, 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-022-00615-6

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