Study of degradation of amitriptyline antidepressant by different electrochemical advanced oxidation processes
Article
Melin, V, Salgado, P, Thiam, A et al. (2021). Study of degradation of amitriptyline antidepressant by different electrochemical advanced oxidation processes
. CHEMOSPHERE, 274 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129683
Melin, V, Salgado, P, Thiam, A et al. (2021). Study of degradation of amitriptyline antidepressant by different electrochemical advanced oxidation processes
. CHEMOSPHERE, 274 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129683
Amitriptyline (AMT) is the most widely used tricyclic antidepressant and is classified as a recalcitrant emergent contaminant because it has been detected in different sources of water. Its accumulation in water and soil represents a risk for different living creatures. To remove amitriptyline from wastewater, the Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) stands up as an interesting option since generate highly oxidized species as hydroxyl radicals ([rad]OH) by environmentally friendly mechanism. In this work, the oxidation and mineralization of AMT solution have been comparatively studied by 3 Electrochemical AOPs (EAOPs) where the [rad]OH is produced by anodic oxidation of H2O (AO-H2O2), or by electro-Fenton (EF) or photoelectro-Fenton (PEF). PEF process with a BDD anode showed the best performance for degradation and mineralization of this drug due to the synergistic action of highly reactive physiosorbed BDD ([rad]OH), homogeneous [rad]OH and UVA radiation. This process achieved total degradation of AMT at 50 min of electrolysis and 95% of mineralization after 360 min of treatment with 0.5 mmol L−1 Fe2+ at 100 mA cm−2. Six aromatic intermediates for the drug mineralization were identified in short time of electrolysis by GC-MS, including a chloroaromatic by-product formed from the attack of active chlorine. Short-chain carboxylic acids like succinic, malic, oxalic and formic acid were quantified by ion-exclusion HPLC. Furthermore, the formation of NO3− ions was monitored. Finally, the organic intermediates identified by chromatographic techniques were used to propose the reaction sequence for the total mineralization of AMT.
