Issue 5, 2009
From the journal:

Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences

Solar photocatalytic treatment of quinolones: intermediates and toxicity evaluation†

Carla Sirtori,abc   Ana Zapata,b   Sixto Malato,b   Wolfgang Gernjak,d   Amadeo R. Fernández-Albaa  and  Ana Agüera*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Pesticide Residue Research Group, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
E-mail: aaguera@ual.es
Fax: +34-950015483
Tel: +34-950015531

b Plataforma Solar de Almería (CIEMAT), Carretera Senés, km 4, Tabernas, Almería, Spain

c The Capes Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, PO Box 365, Brasília-DF, Brazil

d Water Management Centre (AWMC), The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia

Abstract

In this study, degradation of Flumequine (FLU) and nalidixic acid (NXA) in distilled water by two solar photocatalytic processes, TiO2 and photo-Fenton, was evaluated. Intermediates and acute toxicity of the photoproducts generated were also studied. Degradation efficiency by heterogeneous photocatalysis with TiO2 was similar for NXA and FLU, which were completely degraded after 25 min of illumination. Less NXA mineralisation was reached after 80 min of illumination. Photo-Fenton degradation of both substances was very quick (<25 min of illumination time), and the same mineralisation was reached in both cases. The kinetic parameters of the two substances were calculated for comparison of their photocatalytic degradation. In all cases, photocatalytic processes were associated with a reduction in toxicity, as evaluated by Vibrio fischeri bioassay. Furthermore, a sharp decrease in inhibition was observed from the beginning of the treatment, even when FLU and NXA were still present in the reaction solution (first samples). These results demonstrate that in both photocatalytic processes studied, toxicity decreases significantly, producing a phototreated sample within safe toxicity limits. The intermediates formed during photocatalytic degradation were studied by liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS).

Graphical abstract: Solar photocatalytic treatment of quinolones: intermediates and toxicity evaluation

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B817247A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Oct 2008
Accepted
28 Jan 2009
First published
16 Feb 2009

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2009,8, 644-651

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Solar photocatalytic treatment of quinolones: intermediates and toxicity evaluation

C. Sirtori, A. Zapata, S. Malato, W. Gernjak, A. R. Fernández-Alba and A. Agüera, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2009, 8, 644 DOI: 10.1039/B817247A

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