Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Production of Nanocatalyst to Purify Wastewater of Pharmaceutical Industries

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Abstract:
Iranian researchers succeeded in the production of a nanocatalyst made of zinc sulfide which increases the efficiency of purification process of chemical pollutants wastewater.

Production of Nanocatalyst to Purify Wastewater of Pharmaceutical Industries

Tehran, Iran | Posted on November 21st, 2013

The nanocatalyst was produced by using appropriate and cost-effective raw materials and has a simple and controllable synthesis process.

Nowadays, the application of semiconductors, including zinc oxide, zinc sulfide and iron oxide, as photocatalyst in degradation process is one of the most important methods to increase the efficiency of the purification process. Among the advantages of using these photocatalysts mention can be made of high photocatalytic activity, reasonable price, non-toxicity and band gap energy. In this research, researchers tended to produce zinc sulfide nanoparticles and to use the nanoparticles as photocatalysts in increasing the degradation of antibiotics, including amoxicillin, ampicillin, penicillin, and cloxacillin.

"The presence of photocatalyst increases the rate of the production of active radicals in chemical reactions. On the other hand, as the size of the particles is reduced and nanoparticles are formed, the effect of photocatalyst on degradation rate increases. Therefore in this research, photodegradation of some compounds was investigated in aqueous samples in the presence of zinc sulfide nanoparticles as an inhomogeneous photocatalyst," Dr. Hamid Reza Pour-Etedal, member of the Scientific Board of Malek Ashtar University of Technology, stated.

Results of the research showed that it is possible to eliminate antibiotic medical compounds in aqueous samples through photodegradation method by using the produced nanoparticles in a short time with an efficiency of higher than 90%.

The production of the nanocatalyst through a cost-effective method is one of the most important characteristics of the research, which is very promising for the purification of industrial pharmaceutical wastewater through an efficient and cost-effective method in a short period of time.

Results of the research have been published in March 2013 in Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 51, pp. 2617-2623.

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