Trimethoprim degradation using high frequency ultrasonication

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Date

2021-08-23

Department

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Water and Environmental Engineering (WAT)

Language

en

Pages

56

Series

Abstract

Micropollutants such as antibiotics are becoming a challenge. One of the most used antibiotics is Trimethoprim. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not efficient in removing these contaminants due to their poor biodegradability. This environmental problem requires new technologies able to eliminate its presence. High frequency ultrasonication, a technology focused on the generation of hydroxyl radicals, is a real option for water treatment for the removal of micropollutants. In this work, the efficiency of treating contaminated water with ultrasounds was studied after overcoming experimental and measurement challenges. Experiments were carried out using a High multifrequency system working at two different frequencies: 580 kHz and 865 kHz. Varying diverse parameters like treatment time, Trimethoprim concentration or power amplitude, it was observed that at concentrations of 5 ppm of Trimethoprim in synthetic solutions, the treatment was more efficient working at 580 kHz than at 865 kHz. This efficiency grew as power amplitude and treatment time increased. For others concentrations between 6 ppm and 10 ppm, the behavior was very similar but the levels of effectiveness were not that high. These results mean that the studied treatment has high efficiencies for low concentrations whose values are very close to the ones found in real wastewater.

Description

Supervisor

Mikola, Anna

Thesis advisor

Al-Juboori, Raed

Keywords

high frequency, micropollutants, antibiotics, ultrasounds

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