Departamento de Ingenierías Química y Biomolecular, ETSIIyT, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros, 39005 Santander, Spain.
Departamento de Ingenierías Química y Biomolecular, ETSIIyT, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros, 39005 Santander, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1;906:167660. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167660. Epub 2023 Oct 7.
Drug consumption has grown exponentially in recent decades, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to their presence in various water sources. In this way, degradation technologies for pollutants, such as electrochemical oxidation (ELOX), have become crucial to safeguard the quality of natural resources. This study has as its starting point a previous research, which demonstrated the efficacy of ELOX in the removal of COVID-19 related-drugs, such as dexamethasone (DEX), paracetamol (PAR), amoxicillin (AMX), and sertraline (STR), using the electrolytes NaCl and NaSO. The present research aims to study the potential risks associated with the generation of toxic by-products, during the ELOX of cited drugs, specifically focusing on the highly chlorinated persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). Dioxins and furans can be formed potentially in electrochemical systems from precursor molecules or non-precursor molecules in chloride medium. First, the degradation of the parent compounds was found to be complete. At this point, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to identify and analyse the by-products formed during the degradation process; precursors of PCDD/Fs, such as chlorophenols or hydroquinones were identified. Additionally, in continuation of the previous study, PCDD/Fs congeners were investigated, revealing elevated concentrations; the highest concentration obtained was for the congener 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF (234.6 pg L in NaCl) during degradation of the AMX. Finally, an assessment of the toxicity based on TEQ values was conducted, with DEX exhibiting the highest concentration among all compounds: 30.1 pg L for NaCl medium. Therefore, the formation of minor by-products should not be underestimated, as they can significantly enhance the toxicity of the final sample, so the selection of the appropriate remediation technology, as well as the optimization of experimental operating variables, is determining in the treatment of pharmaceutical-contaminated waters.
近年来，药物消费呈指数级增长，特别是在 COVID-19 大流行期间，导致它们存在于各种水源中。在这种情况下，用于污染物降解的技术，如电化学氧化 (ELOX)，对于保护自然资源的质量变得至关重要。本研究以先前的研究为起点，该研究表明 ELOX 对去除与 COVID-19 相关的药物（如地塞米松 (DEX)、对乙酰氨基酚 (PAR)、阿莫西林 (AMX) 和舍曲林 (STR)）的有效性，使用电解质 NaCl 和 NaSO。本研究旨在研究在 ELOX 引用药物过程中产生有毒副产物的潜在风险，特别是关注高度氯化的持久性有机污染物 (POPs)，如多氯二苯并对二恶英和二苯并呋喃 (PCDD/Fs)。二恶英和呋喃可能在电化学系统中由前体分子或氯化介质中的非前体分子形成。首先，发现母体化合物的降解是完全的。此时，进行了全面调查以识别和分析降解过程中形成的副产物；鉴定了 PCDD/Fs 的前体，如氯酚或对苯二酚。此外，作为先前研究的延续，研究了 PCDD/Fs 同系物，发现浓度升高；在降解 AMX 时，获得的最高浓度是同系物 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF（234.6 pg L 在 NaCl 中）。最后，基于 TEQ 值进行了毒性评估，DEX 在所有化合物中表现出最高的浓度：NaCl 介质中为 30.1 pg L。因此，不应低估次要副产物的形成，因为它们会显著增加最终样品的毒性，因此选择合适的修复技术以及优化实验操作变量对于处理受药物污染的水是决定性的。
