In
the present study, a combined approach of ozone-based advanced
oxidation and adsorption by activated char was employed for the treatment
of a pharmaceutical industrial effluent. Ozone is a selective oxidant,
but the addition of H
2
O
2
generated
in
situ
hydroxyl radicals, which is a non-selective stronger
oxidant than ozone. The effluent obtained from the pharmaceutical
industry mainly contained anti-cancer drugs, anti-psychotic drugs,
and some pain killers. The peroxone process had 75–88.5% chemical
oxygen demand (COD) reduction efficiency at pH 5–11 in 3 h.
Adsorption by activated char further reduced the COD to 85.4–92.7%
for pH 5–11 in 2.5 h. All other water quality parameters were
significantly decreased (>73% removal) during ozonation. The primary
operational parameters (system pH and H
2
O
2
concentration)
were also varied, and their effects were analyzed. The pseudo-first-order
rate constants for ozonation were calculated, and they were found
to be in the range of 1.42 × 10
–4
to 3.35 ×
10
–4
s
–1
for pH 5–11. The
kinetic parameters for adsorption were calculated for the pseudo-first-order,
pseudo-second-order, and Elovich models. The fit of the pseudo-first-order
kinetic model to the experimental data was the best.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.