ABSTRACT
The extensive production and consumption of pharmaceuticals has significantly increased the possibility of water contamination by pharmaceutical compounds. The chronic exposure and cumulative build up of these pharmaceutical compounds pose immense threat to humans and ecosystems. The conventional water treatment methods are largely ineffective in degrading these pharmaceuticals. The study reviews different alternative treatment employed for mitigation of pharmaceuticals in aqueous medium. Among different alternative treatment methods, electrochemical oxidation (ECO), which relies on generation of ions in aqueous medium, has been proven to be a promising and attractive technique for the effective oxidation of variety of organic contaminants. However, choice of electrode material largely contributes to the effectiveness of ECO process. Accordingly, a case study is presented on evaluation of electrodes fabricated from low-cost materials, namely, iron, aluminum, and carbon. Methylene blue (MB) was chosen as a model pharmaceutical. The effect of factors controlling the efficacy
of ECO process, namely, pollutant concentration, applied current, and concentration of electrolyte, with electrode materials in decolorization rate of MB are thoroughly examined in the case study. A toxicity analysis of MB degradation on the red blood cell of domesticated chicken species (Gallus gallus domesticus) is also presented in the study. Mineralization study was conducted to confirm degradation of MB. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used as a tool to confirm the formation of oxidative species at the electrode responsible for degradation of pharmaceuticals. The case study demonstrates an alternative decolorization option using low-cost electrode materials which can significantly enhance the affordability and acceptability of the ECO process for degrading pharmaceutical pollutants and reports of using EDS as a tool to assess the degradation route.
