Khalil, A., Alwasiti, A., Abdulrzaak, J. (2025). Photodegradation of paracetamol using TiO2 in a rectangular bubble column reactor. , 43(9), 756-765. doi: 10.30684/etj.2025.157410.1902
Ashwan H. Khalil; Asawer A. Alwasiti; Jenan A. Abdulrzaak. "Photodegradation of paracetamol using TiO2 in a rectangular bubble column reactor". , 43, 9, 2025, 756-765. doi: 10.30684/etj.2025.157410.1902
Khalil, A., Alwasiti, A., Abdulrzaak, J. (2025). 'Photodegradation of paracetamol using TiO2 in a rectangular bubble column reactor', , 43(9), pp. 756-765. doi: 10.30684/etj.2025.157410.1902
Khalil, A., Alwasiti, A., Abdulrzaak, J. Photodegradation of paracetamol using TiO2 in a rectangular bubble column reactor. , 2025; 43(9): 756-765. doi: 10.30684/etj.2025.157410.1902

Photodegradation of paracetamol using TiO2 in a rectangular bubble column reactor

Engineering and Technology Journal
Volume 43, Issue 9, September 2025, Pages 756-765    PDF (1.15 M)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.30684/etj.2025.157410.1902
Authors
Ashwan H. Khalil; Asawer A. Alwasiti* ; Jenan A. Abdulrzaak
Chemical Engineering Dept., University of Technology-Iraq, Alsinaa street, 10066 Baghdad, Iraq.
Abstract
Surface water, wastewater, and drinking water have all been found to contain paracetamol and its toxic breakdown products. Effective ways to degrade these products must be discovered to lessen their harmful effects on aquatic microorganisms and human health. The study focuses on finding effective methods to degrade harmful products, specifically paracetamol, to mitigate their negative impact on aquatic microorganisms and human health. To achieve this, the research investigates a photocatalytic process enhanced by introducing air bubbles, aiming to improve the degradation of paracetamol. The experiments were carried out in a batch reactor and a semi-batch rectangular bubble column, which measured 1500 mm in height, 30 mm in depth, and 200 mm in width, all under UV light. Titanium oxide (TiO2) served as the catalyst. The study examined the impact of various operating conditions, pH levels (ranging from 3 to 10), airflow rates (0 to 2 L/min), and irradiation times (0 to 240 minutes) on the removal of paracetamol the results show that changes in pH values affected the photodegradation of paracetamol, and using pH 7 gives higher COD removal percentage values. Indeed, using air bubbles improves the COD removal percentage to 78%. The degradation of paracetamol was investigated using HPLC analysis, and the maximum removal of paracetamol was 91.2% using optimum operating conditions of pH=7, flow rate 1 L/min, after 240 min. The kinetic study is consistent with the pseudo-first-order reaction model.

Highlights
  • A rectangular bubble column was used for the photodegradation of paracetamol in synthesis wastewater.
  • Maximum COD removal (78%) was achieved by introducing air bubbles at a flow rate of 1 L/min.
  • pH affected pollutant adsorption, with the optimum pH for photocatalysis found to be 7.
Keywords
Paracetamol degradation; photocatalyst; bubble column
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