Advanced Oxidation Processes for the remediation of water contaminated by emerging pollutants

The destruction of selected emerging pollutants (pharmaceuticals and UV filters) in spiked water has been achieved by means of Advanced Oxidation Processes. These processes can be generated by irradiating water solutions with UV-light, ?-rays, electron-beams, or even ultrasounds. The energy transmitted with these processes interacts mainly with water molecules generating hydroxyl free-radicals that react with organic molecules leading to their degradation and eventually mineralization. The oxidative processes can be improved by photocatalysts (e.g. TiO2), or chemical additives (e.g. H2O2). Here we show a study on the decomposition of a water solution of four emerging pollutants, ofloxacin, benzophenone-3, benzophenenone-4 and carbamazepine, by means of UV, UV+TiO2, and UV+H2O2. The system was studied monitoring the concentration of the said compounds by HPLC, UV-vis absorption and total organic carbon content.