Recoverable Catalyst for Pharmaceutical Removal
Official patent title
Method of catalytic degradation of phenylbutazone with zerovalent cerium supported biochar beads
Arabic title: طريقة للتحلل التحفيزي للفينيل بيوتازون باستخدام حبيبات الفحم الحيوي المدعومة بالسيريوم صفري التكافؤ
Invention
Invention
Problem
Phenylbutazone and other stable pharmaceutical residues can persist through conventional wastewater treatment. Some advanced oxidation systems require substantial energy or costly reagents and may generate secondary products that need additional control.
Why it matters
Rapid degradation of persistent pharmaceutical contaminants under mild, non-photochemical conditions could broaden treatment options for pharmaceutical, hospital, municipal, and agricultural wastewater.
Approach
The method activates persulfate with zerovalent cerium supported on porous biochar beads. The beads combine quinoa biochar, hydroxyapatite, sodium alginate, and reduced cerium, generating sulfate and/or hydroxyl radicals that degrade phenylbutazone without light irradiation.
Who may benefit
Potential beneficiaries include pharmaceutical-wastewater operators, advanced-oxidation technology firms, hospital and municipal treatment facilities, catalyst manufacturers, and environmental-remediation researchers.
Potential value
The bead catalyst combines a biomass-derived support with zerovalent cerium and persulfate activation, providing rapid phenylbutazone conversion without illumination and a physically recoverable catalyst form with specified size, porosity, and surface area.
Background
Background
Pharmaceutical compounds enter water through manufacturing, disposal, agriculture, and human or animal excretion. Their chemical stability can make activated sludge, filtration, and sedimentation insufficient. Membranes, ozone, and advanced oxidation may improve removal but can increase energy, reagent, and secondary-treatment requirements. Persulfate can generate sulfate and hydroxyl radicals when activated by a suitable catalyst. The patent uses zerovalent cerium supported on a porous quinoa-biochar bead to combine radical generation, adsorption, and a recoverable catalyst geometry for phenylbutazone degradation.
Technology overview
Technology overview
Quinoa biochar, hydroxyapatite, sodium alginate, and zerovalent cerium are mixed into a slurry and dropped into calcium chloride solution to form beads. Cerium is prepared by borohydride reduction of a cerium salt. The resulting catalyst has 0.05–0.6 μm particles, 1–5 nm pores, and 55–60 m²/g surface area. At 130–150 mg/L catalyst and 0.1–0.3 mM persulfate, claims report at least 60% phenylbutazone degradation within one minute and at least 80% within five minutes over a broad pH range without light.
Potential applications
Potential applications
- Phenylbutazone degradation in contaminated water.
- Advanced oxidation of pharmaceutical wastewater.
- Hospital and municipal effluent polishing research.
- Persulfate-activation catalyst development.
- Biochar-bead platforms for combined adsorption and catalytic treatment.
Evidence-supported advantages
Evidence-supported advantages
- Reports at least 80% phenylbutazone degradation within five minutes.
- Does not require light irradiation during treatment.
- Uses quinoa-derived biochar as part of the catalyst support.
- Provides a bead form that may simplify physical recovery.
- Operates with sulfate and/or hydroxyl radicals over a broad stated pH range.
Development stage
Development stage
Bead synthesis, materials characterization, and laboratory phenylbutazone degradation kinetics are described; catalyst reuse, complete mineralization, by-product safety, real-effluent operation, and pilot scale were not established. The development stage was not independently verified.
Commercial opportunity
Commercial opportunity
The catalyst may interest pharmaceutical-effluent and advanced-oxidation providers. Commercialization requires complete mineralization and by-product toxicity studies, catalyst reuse and cerium leaching data, persulfate residual control, performance in complex wastewater, continuous-reactor trials, bead durability, cost analysis, and environmental permitting at intended treatment sites.
Patent classifications
Patent classifications
WIPO IPC
- C02F1/72Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- B01J21/18Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- C02F101/34Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
CPC
- B01J35/613Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- C02F1/722Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- B01J23/10Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- C02F1/283Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- B01J35/643Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- B01J35/45Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- B01J21/18Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- B01J35/40Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- B01J35/647Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- C02F1/725Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- B01J37/04Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- B01J37/031Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
- C02F2101/38Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- C02F2101/30Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- C02F2101/306Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- C02F2101/34Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
- C02F2101/308Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
Inventors
Inventors
- First inventorAhmed Bayoumi Mohamed Ibrahim
- InventorMurtaza Sayed
- InventorMaleeha Bushra
- InventorFaiza Rehman
- InventorMohamed Nady Abd El-Hameed Ibrahim
Keywords
Keywords
- phenylbutazone
- zerovalent cerium
- biochar beads
- persulfate
- advanced oxidation
- pharmaceutical wastewater
- quinoa biochar
- catalytic degradation
Patent document and drawings
Patent document and drawings
The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.