abstract
In the past few years, the improvement of advanced analytical tools allowed to confirm the presence of trace amounts of metabolized and unchanged active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as well as in freshwater surfaces. It is known that the continuous contact with APIs, even at very low concentrations (ng L-1-mu gL(-1)), leads to serious human health problems. In this context, this work shows the feasibility of using ionic-liquid-based aqueous biphasic systems (IL-based ABS) in the extraction of quinolones present in aqueous media. In particular, ABS composed of imidazolium- and phosphonium-based ILs and aluminium-based salts (already used in water treatment plants) were evaluated in one-step extractions of six fluoroquinolones (FQs), namely ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, moxifloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin and sarafloxacin, and extraction efficiencies up to 98% were obtained. Despite the large interest devoted to IL-based ABS as extractive systems of outstanding performance, their recyclability/reusability has seldomly been studied. An efficient extraction/cleaning process of the IL-rich phase is here proposed by FQs induced precipitation. The recycling of the IL and its further reuse without losses in the ABS extractive performance for FQs were established, as confirmed by the four consecutive removal/extraction cycles evaluated. This novel recycling strategy supports IL-based ABS as sustainable and cost-efficient extraction platforms.
keywords
WASTE-WATER TREATMENT; PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS; TREATMENT PLANTS; 2-PHASE SYSTEMS; PHARMACEUTICAL RESIDUES; AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT; ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE; RISK-ASSESSMENT; CONTAMINANTS; REMOVAL
subject category
Chemistry; Science & Technology - Other Topics
authors
Almeida, HFD; Freire, MG; Marrucho, IM
our authors
Mara Guadalupe Freire Martins
Coordinating ResearcherProjects
Igy Technology: A Purication Platform using Ionic-Liquid-Based Aqueous Biphasic Systems (IGYPURTECH)
acknowledgements
This work was funded by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) through PTDC/QUI-QUI/121520/2010. Hugo F. D. Almeida acknowledge FCT for a doctoral grant SFRH/BD/88369/2012, M. G. Freire acknowledges the European Research Council (ERC) for the starting grant ERC-2013-StG-337753 and Isabel M. Marrucho acknowledges the 2012 FCT Investigator Program for the contract. This project was carried out under GREEN-IT.