Efficient Removal of an Antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole from Water using TiO2 Coated on Non Woven Paper and UV Irradiation

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of titanium dioxide TiO 2 coated non-woven paper in removing Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) antibiotic from aqueous solutions. The effects of initial concentration and the circulation flow rate of the reactor on the photocatalytic degradation of SMX have been investigated experimentally, in the presence of TiO 2 fixed on non-woven paper, under UV light. Kinetics of Langmuir and Langmuir–Hinshelwood were studied respectively in the dark and under UV irradiation. Results indicated that the constant of adsorption calculated from the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model is higher than that calculated from adsorption isotherm. The degradation rate was higher at low concentration as well as the kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of SMX was found to follow a first-order rate law. The circulation flow rate of the reactor has no significant effect on the SMX removal kinetic within the used range.