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Degradation of anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen by electro-oxidation: comparison of electro-Fenton and anodic oxidation processes

  • Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for removal of toxic/persistent organic pollutants from water
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Abstract

The electrochemical degradation of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen in tap water has been studied using electro-Fenton (EF) and anodic oxidation (AO) processes with platinium (Pt) and boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes and carbon felt cathode. Fast degradation of the parent drug molecule and its degradation intermediates leading to complete mineralization was achieved by BDD/carbon felt, Pt/carbon felt, and AO with BDD anode. The obtained results showed that oxidative degradation rate of ketoprofen and mineralization of its aqueous solution increased by increasing applied current. Degradation kinetics fitted well to a pseudo-first-order reaction. Absolute rate constant of the oxidation of ketoprofen by electrochemically generated hydroxyl radicals was determined to be (2.8 ± 0.1) × 109 M−1 s−1 by using competition kinetic method. Several reaction intermediates such as 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, pyrogallol, catechol, benzophenone, benzoic acid, and hydroquinone were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. The formation, identification, and evolution of short-chain aliphatic carboxylic acids like formic, acetic, oxalic, glycolic, and glyoxylic acids were monitored with ion exclusion chromatography. Based on the identified aromatic/cyclic intermediates and carboxylic acids as end products before mineralization, a plausible mineralization pathway was proposed. The evolution of the toxicity during treatments was also monitored using Microtox method, showing a faster detoxification with higher applied current values.

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Acknowledgments

Ling Feng is a doctoral research fellow of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate program ETeCoS3 (Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils and Sediments) under the grant agreement FPA no. 2010-0009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (LGE), Université Paris-Est, EA 4508, 77454, Marne la Vallée, France

    Ling Feng, Nihal Oturan, Eric D. van Hullebusch & Mehmet A. Oturan

  2. Department of Mechanics, Structures and Environmental Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Via Di Biasio, 43-03043, Cassino, Italy

    Ling Feng & Giovanni Esposito

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  1. Ling Feng
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  2. Nihal Oturan
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  3. Eric D. van Hullebusch
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  5. Mehmet A. Oturan
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Correspondence to Giovanni Esposito or Mehmet A. Oturan.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Feng, L., Oturan, N., van Hullebusch, E.D. et al. Degradation of anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen by electro-oxidation: comparison of electro-Fenton and anodic oxidation processes. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 8406–8416 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2774-2

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