Iranian Student Studies Amoxicillin Removal from Urban Wastewater by Bio-Photocatalysts
An article titled ‘Removal of amoxicillin from real urban wastewater using eco-friendly bio-photocatalyst (CoFe₂O₄/Co-g-C₃N₄/chitosan) as peroxymonosulfate activator: upgradation of synergy and mechanism’ by Mojtaba Jaras, a master’s student in polymer engineering at Mahshahr Campus of Amirkabir University of Technology, was published in the international journal Chemical Engineering Journal.
In this research, the removal of the antibiotic amoxicillin from urban wastewater using the synthesis of a bio-nanocatalyst has been investigated. The nanocatalyst designed with a combination of environmentally friendly materials, including chitosan, carbon nitride graphite, and cobalt ferrite has shown effective performance in persulfate activation and pharmaceutical pollution degradation.
Based on the findings of this study, the introduced bio-photocatalyst prevents secondary pollution and has a more sustainable performance in removing emerging pollutants from water sources compared to conventional nanocatalysts.
The research also highlights the high potential of using chitosan-based photocatalysts for the removal of other pharmaceutical pollutants and the development of greener approaches in environmental pollution management.
In a relevant development in 2023, scientists at an Iranian technological company used nanotechnology to detect antibiotics in milk rapidly.
“The amount of antibiotics in milk was determined through laboratory tests and equipment like HPLC in the past which was a time-consuming process taking between 6 hours to a day but the new kits can detect antibiotics rapidly,” said Mohaddeseh Haji Abdol Vahhab, the managing director of the company.
She added that these kits have so far been imported from foreign states, including Denmark and Belgium, but their imports have faced restrictions and obstacles.
Haji Abdol Vahhab said that the prototype of the product has been produced in the company, adding, “At present, 3,000 kits have been prepared which will be presented to a number of milk producing companies in Iran to conduct preliminary tests.”
“A nanoscale certificate has been received for this product and we have passed the final stages of receiving the knowledge-based certificate and we have also demanded permission of the veterinary organization for our products,” she underlined.
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