Eliminación de contaminantes emergentes de las aguas por métodos de oxidación avanzada

Abstract

Abstract: Photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and clays (Iseriq and Arcimego) were investigated for the removal of contaminants in aqueous media. In the first study, photocatalysts with a clay/TiO₂ ratio of 40%-60% were used to eliminate tetracycline. Although adsorption in the dark was low (around 39%), UV radiation achieved 98.86% degradation, increasing to more than 99% with the use of photocatalysts. In the second study, the removal of amoxicillin was evaluated using TiO₂/clay catalysts in the same ratio. The experiments showed that solar photocatalysis with Arcimego achieved a removal of 69.82%, while with Iseriq it was 64.04%. Adsorption alone removed around 9%, and solar photolysis achieved 18.5%. Additionally, the catalysts showed stability after multiple uses, with no loss of efficiency. These results highlight the effectiveness of solar photocatalysis in the removal of antibiotics and the reuse of the catalysts without significant loss of activity.