Degradation and fate of pharmaceutically active compounds by ozonation, UV photolysis, UV/H2O2, and enzymatic treatments and toxicological assessment of their transformation products
Year
2018
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
School of Chemistry
Abstract
The widespread occurrence of a wide range of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhAC) in surface, ground, and even drinking water has been reported at concentrations up to several μg/L by many researchers. Their presence has been attributed to their inadequate removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Commonly known and problematic PhAC are carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and trimethoprim (TMP). Environmental occurrence of these PhAC has become a major topic of interest because of their possible adverse consequences including the spread and development of bacterial resistance in the environment, ecotoxicological effects, and negative impacts on the reproductive and endocrine systems of aquatic organisms. A number of advanced oxidation processes (AOPS) such as ozonation, UV photolysis, and UV/H2O2 and enzymatic treatments have been investigated to degrade these PhAC. However, the effectiveness of these techniques to remove CBZ, DCF, SMX, and TMP has not been comprehensively investigated yet. Additionally, a major challenge with the use of these treatments for the degradation of the four selected PhAC is the production of transformation products that are often as or more persistent and/or toxic than the original PhAC. This thesis focuses on investigating and understanding the degradation of the four selected PhAC by ozonation, UV photolysis, UV/H2O2, and enzymatic treatments. In addition, the formation, fate, and toxicity assessment of transformation products are a major scope of this thesis. This includes optimization of methods using Liquid chromatography- mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) for detection and structural elucidation of the detected transformation products associated with the use of MS high-resolution analysis.
Recommended Citation
Alharbi, Sultan Khalaf, Degradation and fate of pharmaceutically active compounds by ozonation, UV photolysis, UV/H2O2, and enzymatic treatments and toxicological assessment of their transformation products, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, 2018. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/610
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.