Degradation of an anti-inflammatory drug using magnesium ferrite in theFenton oxidation process

The growth of the global economy is exponentially increasing. The rapid growthof urbanization and industrialization releases a huge volume of wastewater that imposes adverseeffects on human health[۱]. The presence of organic compounds such as painkillers in water is athreat to public health; because many of them are poisonous; endocrine disruptor and mutagenicfor humans and animals[۲]. Fenton advanced oxidation process is one of the most cost-effectivemethods for wastewater treatment[۳]. In this research, the Fenton oxidation process using aferrite-based catalyst, i.e. magnesium ferrite (MgFe۲O۴), has been used to remove diclofenacsodium (DS) from an aqueous solution. DS is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)used to block substances that cause inflammation and pain. The effect of four reactionparameters including the amount of the catalyst, the amount of hydrogen peroxide oxidant andpH on the drug removal was studied. In the optimal conditions, the removal efficiency of the DSwith a concentration of ۵۰ mg/l reached more than ۹۰% at ۳۳ min; with ۱۵ mg of the catalyst,۱.۵ mL of H۲O۲ at pH ۷. The results show that the magnetically separable catalyst can be usedefficiently in the Fenton process for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewaters.