Treatment of pharmaceuticals/antibiotics in wastewater by combination of zeolite adsorbent with ionizing radiation

Taguchi, Mitsumasa*; Kumagai, Yuta   ; Kimura, Atsushi*

The technology for the decomposition of trace amounts of halogenated pharmaceuticals/antibiotics was developed in wastewater by use of the combination method of zeolite adsorbent and ionizing radiation. HMOR, a hydrophobic high-silica mordenite-type zeolite, was employed to concentrate 2-chlorophenol (2-ClPh) as a simple model of halogenated pharmaceuticals/antibiotics. HMOR adsorbed above 99% of 2-ClPh from dilute aqueous solutions. The yield of Cl production in HMOR mixture corresponded to the aqueous solution containing 10 fold higher concentration of dissolved 2-ClPh. Clofibrate and triclosan, one of chlorinated pharmaceuticals/antibiotics, in real wastewater were treated by use of the combination method of HMOR and ionizing radiation. Production yield of Cl by use of the adsorbent was about twice higher than that in aqueous solution, and HMOR was contributed for effective reduction of chlorinated pharmaceuticals/antibiotics in real wastewater.