Can UV-C laser pulsed irradiation be used for the removal of organic micropollutants from water? Case study with ibuprofen

Abstract

A novel approach based on the direct pulsed irradiation of UV-C light onto ibuprofen (IBP) solutions was evaluated in this work, as proof of concept for the direct removal of micropollutants. The experiments confirmed that laser irradiation is able to completely degrade IBP in 15 min in distilled water, with a DOC depletion of ca. 25% and with transformation products (TPs) remaining in solution and estimated to represent ca. 10% of the initial IBP concentration. In wastewater spiked samples, removal efficiency is slightly lower but still significant (ca. 5% IBP remaining after 15 min). Hence, this work suggests that low power solid state pulsed lasers, emitting at 266 nm wavelength, show promise for the removal of these type of micropollutants from water. These results open new opportunities towards the development of chemical-free water treatment methods based on direct, selective irradiation using state of the art, miniaturized laser devices