Degradation of sertraline in water by suspended and supported TiO₂

Pharmaceutical pollutants have been detected in many countries in surface and ground water after treatment in wastewater treatment plants. The presented studies concern the photocatalytic removal of one of SSRI antidepressants - sertraline from water using TiO₂ photocatalyst. The process was conducted using two laboratory installations with periodic and flow reactors. Two forms of TiO₂ was used in the photocatalytic reactions: suspended and supported onto a glass fabric. The studies shown that with increasing initial concentration of pharmaceutical, photoactivity decreases. For the initial concentration of 0.025 g/dm³, the best results – 94% removal – was achieved for the process conducted in the periodic reactor with TiO₂ supported onto a glass fabric.