Mr Samarghandi, Ar Rahmani, Z Darabi, J Mehralipour,
Volume 12, Issue 4 (2-2020)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Electroproxone process is a combination of ozonation process and electrolysis in which the production of hydroxyl radical and ultimately degradation of a pollutant occurs. The aim of this study was to estimate the E-Proxone process in removing ceftriaxone from a synthetic solution.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, a semi-continuous reactor equipped with four graphene electrodes having 2 × 10 cm dimension and 3 mm thickness was used. The effect of pH (3-11), concentration of ozone gas (1-5 mg/min), direct electric current (1-3 A), initial concentration of ceftriaxone (5-50 mg/L) and radical scavenger dose (tertbutanol = 20 mmol/L) was studied in a 0-60 minutes reaction time. The Ceftriaxone concentration was measured by HPLC, COD was measured with spectrophotometer (DR6000) and TOC with a TOC analyzer.
Results: The results of this study indicated that this process had sufficient performance in the degradation of the antibiotic and diminishing of COD and TOC. The excellent condition was pH = 3, the electric current of 3 A, the ozone concentration of 5 mg/min, and the sodium sulfate as an electrolyte was 50 mmole/L. The ceftriaxone concentration was 5 mg/L in the duration of the 30 minutes experiment. 99.39% of the Ceftriaxone was destroyed. The process efficiency in COD and TOC removal was highest at 90 minutes. The presence of tertbutanol reduced the process efficiency to 83%.
Conclusion: The E-Proxone process, as one of the advanced oxidation processes, has the ability to reduce the pollution load of pharmaceutical industry, especially the ceftriaxone in this wastewater. This process is considered an environmentally friendly process.
Khadijeh Darabi, Navid Alinejad, Ghasem Hassani, Ahmad Badeenezhad,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2025)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Littered waste is one of the most common forms of pollution in urban environments, primarily caused by citizens’ behavior in waste disposal. This study aimed to investigate the density and composition of littered waste in Behbahan, Iran, in 2023 and assess the pollution status using a specific environmental index.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated the density and composition of littered waste in Behbahan's urban environment using visual surveys. The findings on the density and composition of abandoned waste were interpreted using the Clean Environment Index, an environmental ranking method that assesses the severity of litter pollution.
Results: The study revealed that the density of littered waste in the surveyed areas ranged from 0.011/m² to 0.954/m². The average density of littered waste in commercial, residential, and recreational land uses was 0.809/m², 0.196/m², and 0.011/m², respectively. Cigarette butts were the most common type of litter, constituting 61% of the total waste on average. The Clean Environment Index values for the surveyed locations ranged from 0.39 to 32.56, indicating that 63.6% of the sites were categorized as clean or moderately polluted, while 36.3% were classified as extremely polluted.
Conclusion: Given the significant proportion of cigarette butts in the composition of littered waste in Behbahan and their impact on the pollution index, efficient management strategies for this type of waste are crucial. The finding that over one-third of the surveyed locations fell into the "extremely dirty" category highlights the need to enhance the efficiency of the urban cleaning system.
