Magnetic hybrid nanomaterials for the photodegradation of microcontaminats in aqueous environment

Bio-based substances (BBS) isolated from urban biowaste have been employed to prepare hybrid magnetic nanomaterials with iron oxides. Such materials have been tested, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, for the light induced photodegradation of four microcontaminants (MCs) in aqueous environment: Carbamazepine (C, an anticonvulsant and analgesic drug), Flumequine (F, an antibiotic), Ibuprofen (I, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug), and Sulfamethoxazole (S, an antibiotic). Preliminary photodegradation experiments were carried out at lab-scale in a solar simulator, whereas optimized experiments were carried out in a pilot plant under natural solar radiation. The MCs complete abatement has been observed when working at acidic pH with no significant kinetic differences between experiments run in solar simulator and in the solar pilot plant.