Abstract

Since ancient times, sunlight irradiation has been widely used for water purification. Apart from solar water disinfection techniques, UV irradiation is of particular interest when considering the photodegradation of various classes of emerging pollutants. Pharmaceutically active compounds are one of the largest classes of micropollutants. The main sources of these contaminants in wastewater and aqueous environments are households, hospitals, manufacturing plants, and improper disposal of expired drugs. It is estimated that the pharmaceutical market in the European Union comprises about 3000 active compounds, and this number is constantly growing. Conventional wastewater treatment procedures based mainly on the activated sludge method are not suitable for poorly biodegradable pharmaceuticals. Good alternatives are advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and especially photochemical-based processes (PAOPs). These methods involve the combination of UV light with various oxidizing agents, like hydrogen peroxide, ozone treatment, Fenton systems, and heterogeneous photocatalysis. One of the main disadvantages of many photochemical processes is relatively high cost. Moreover, UV treatment can lead to the formation of toxic intermediates. For this reason, extensive research on the pharmaceuticals’ photoinduced degradation paths has been carried out.

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