The Application of Advanced Oxidation Using an Isopropyl Alcohol and β-Cyclodextrin Enhanced Fenton Reaction to Remove Pharmaceuticals From Synthetic Wastewater

Overview

Pharmaceutical contamination of ground and surface water is a growing issue and wastewater has been identified as the main route of entry. Because they are bioactive, pharmaceuticals do not solubilize easily or evaporate at normal temperatures and pressures. Some water treatment methods have been found to effectively remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater, however, many of them are expensive and therefore not feasible for application on a larger scale. The goal of this experiment was to determine a more feasible method for removing five specific pharmaceuticals from water including diphenhydramine (Benadryl), acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and caffeine. The Fenton reaction is an advanced oxidation reaction performed when H2O2 in the presence of iron (Fe) creates hydroxyl radicals that can degrade pollutants. It was hypothesized that the Fenton reaction enhanced with β-cyclodextrin and isopropyl alcohol would effectively degrade pharmaceuticals. The statistically significant data (caffeine ANOVA p-value 0.00019, ibuprofen ANOVA p- value 0.0011, naproxen ANOVA p-value 0.022, and diphenhydramine ANOVA p-value 0.0038) suggests the probability that the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected is 2% or less for caffeine, ibuprofen, naproxen, and diphenhydramine. Based on this data, implementation of the Fenton reaction for the removal of pharmaceuticals shows promise for municipal water reclamation facilities.

Awards (1)

• 2nd Place Environmental Science

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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