Introduction:The disposal of pharmaceutical wastes is a huge problem in the present

world. Pharmaceutical compounds have recently being detected in sewag

effluents,surface,ground and drinking water. They are also found in
aquatic environment . Frequent occurrence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic
environment and drinking water has raised a concern about their
potential effects on health and environment. Some of the adverse health
effects include aquatic toxicity, resistance development in pathogenic
bacteria, genotoxicity and endocrine disruption. The presence of trace
pharmaceuticals and other xenobiotic components in drinking water is
also a public concern since little is known about their potential chronic
health associated with long term ingestion of these compounds through
drinking water. They make their way through body via various sources
such direct disposal of drugs in households, excretion by humans and
animals etc. to avoid undesired accumulation powerful oxidation
techniques have been devised. In this project we will primarily focus
towards the degradation of paracetomol by uv rays and ultrasound in a
sonophotoreactor.

Paracetomol overview:It is commonly known as acetominophene is a medication used to treat

pain and fever. It is typically used for mild to moderate pain. Paracetomol
is classified as a mild analgesic . it does not have significant anti
inflammatory activities.

Adverse effects on enviornmernt:Paracetomol and structural analogs are ubiquitos in the natural
environment and easily accumulate in aquatic environment which have
been detected in aquatic environment. They are mainly treated by
oxidation process but the harsh reaction conditions and the generation of
secondary pollutants and the cost havenot made this process a desirable
one.

Some important terminologies:Homogeneous photocatalysis:In homogenous photocatalysis, a powerful UV lamp is used to illuminate
the contaminated water in the presence of Fe3+, O3 or H2O2 which act as
a catalyst and the reaction takes place in the bulk solution.
Heterogenous photocatalysis:Heterogeneous photocatalysis can be defined as catalytic process during
which one or more reaction steps occur by means of generation of
electron-hole pair by suitable light on the surface of the solid
semiconductor materials. The distribution and utilization of light energy
due to the presence of solid catalyst material in liquid or gaseous mixtures
makes this process more complex compared with homogeneous process.
In classical heterogeneous photocatalysis process, the reaction itself
occurs in the adsorbed phase and the overall process can be decomposed
into following steps:
1. Transfer of reactants from the bulk of fluid to the exterior surface of the
catalyst.
2. Transfer of reactants from the external surface of the catalyst into its
pore structure.
3. Adsorption of at least one of the reactants.
4. Reaction in the adsorbed phase.
5. Desorption of the products.
6. Transfer of products out of the pore structure to the exterior of the
catalyst surface.
7. Transfer of products from the exterior surface of the catalyst to the bulk
of the fluid
Photocatalysis or uv/tio2 :The basis of photocatalysis is the photo-excitation of a semiconductor that is
solid as a result of the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, often, but not
exclusively, in the near UV spectrum. Under near UV irradiation a suitable
semiconductor material may be excited by photons possessing energies of
sufficient magnitude to produce conduction band electrons and valence band
holes. These charge carriers are able to induce reduction or oxidation
respectively.

Three components must be present in order for the heterogeneous

photocatalytic reaction to take place: an emitted photon (in the appropriate
wavelength), a catalyst surface (usually a semi-conductor material) and a
strong oxidizing agent (in most cases oxygen).
The photocatalytic reaction proceeds via a series of chemical events,
following the initiation step of pair electron-hole formation. This leads to the
utilization of both the electron - hole h+ for oxidation processes and
eventually to the capture of the e~ electron for reduction processes, as well
as the potential formation of super oxides anions and hydrogen peroxide from
oxygen.

The most effective photocatalyst for this purpose is titanium dioxide. This
is a non-toxic, material that is a constituent of toothpastes and many
cosmetics. Its reaction can be represented as a number of mechanistic
steps. A photo-excited TiO2 generates an electron and an electron-hole.
TiO2+hve- +h+

The basic advantages of using tio2 are as follows:1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

They are inert chemically and biologically

They are stable to corrosion
They are better from safety point of view
Since it is of low cost it limits the choice of convienient alternatives
It can use natural uv rays.
It can create exact gap between valence and conduction band.

The modern boost in developing the technique of ultrasound treatment of

aqueous systems is related to advances in sonochemistry and, in
particular, accumulation of the results of ultrasound (ULS) action on
organic and biological objects. Ultrasonic treatment has been successfully
used in adsorption, chemosorption, and rectification processes and in
ozone plants for wastewater treatment. The use of ULS simplifies the
reactor design; its reliability and service life increase; energy consumption
is reduced; mass transfer processes are speeded up; water purification is
improved and accompanied by its simultaneous disinfection,
deodorization, and decoloration.

Ultrasound or sonification:Ultrasonic technology as an innovative technology may be used for water and wastewater
treatment for pollution removal. This technology acts as an advanced oxidation process.
Application of this technology leads to the decomposition of many complex organic compounds
to much simpler compounds during cavitation process. It is one such recent technique which has
been found to be substantially beneficial in wastewater treatment.
Ultrasound is the term used to describe sound energy at frequencies
above the range that is normally audible to human beings (i.e.>16 kHz).

Cavitation is described as the formation of microbubbles in solution that

implode violently after reaching a critical resonance size. These
microbubbles can be produced by a number of mechanisms:
1) Local increase in water velocity as in eddies or vortices, or over
boundary contours;
2) Rapid vibration of the boundary through sonication;
3) Separation or parting of a liquid column owing to water hammer; or
4) An overall reduction in static pressure.

Advantages of sonification and cavitation:1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

They are able to treat toxic wastes at mild conditions

Environment friendly technology used electricity as reactant
It can be simply stopped by switching off
Cost effective and safe
Even effluents with low conductivity can be treated

Sonophotocatalytic process:It is the combination of two advanced oxidation processes i.e. sonication and
photocatalysis. The basic reaction mechanism for both ultrasound initiated
degradation process as well as photocatalytic oxidation (either using UV light
or solar energy) is the generation of free radicals and subsequent attack by
these on the pollutant organic species. If the two modes of irradiations (UV
and ultrasound) are operated in combination, more number of free radicals
will be available for the reaction thereby increasing the rates of reaction.

Literature review:In this review we will generally study about the opyimal operating
conditions for the degradation of paracetomol in water. Uva (200nm )
radiation alone degraded negligible amount of paracetomol where
paracetomol concentration decreased substantially with marginal changes
in total organic carbon. In presence of tio2 effective degaradation and
mineralisation occurred.
Experimental equipments:-

1)Spectrometer:This device( from AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES) helped in determing the

concentration curves of unknown samples of paracetomol mixed with
deionized water before conducting the experiment.

2) Digital ultrasonic cleaner:We have prepared this instrument from LABMAN SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTS PVT LTD whose water capacity is 4 litres and a wattage of
100 watts. It generally consists of a ultrasound bath where a cylindrical
glass vessel is immersed with two uv lamps are added .the uv lamps help
in accelerating the reaction of the solution sample while the power is on.

3)

temperature measurement device:-

this device helps in measuring the temperature of the reactor while uv

rays are passing through the tubes via temperature probe.

Experimental procedure:a)Compound solution:-

at first stock solutions are prepared are prepared using

paracetomol (p-500 ) and deionized water then they are rotated
at high speed using a high speed magnetic stirrer for complete
immersion of paracetomol sediments in water. The vessels are
covered with aluminium foil to avoid further degradation via
atmospheric air in the lab or flurosecent lamp.the standard
solution is considered is 1mg/ml. Then the whole solution is
immersed in the reactor and the reaction proceeds via
illumination of the uv bulb generating a vibrating sound which
shows the reaction is occurring. The temperature initially occurs
at 24.50c and it rapidly rises with respect to time. Reading are
generally taken at 30 mins time interval where we take out the
solution visa pipette then it is filtered via filter paper and
settled in a vessel then it is covered via aluminium foil.