Application of Ozone-catalyzed Oxidation Process for Degradation of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) continue to be detected in water sources with far-reaching negative impacts, and removing these emerging contaminants has become a top priority. Conventional water treatment technologies make it difficult to effectively remove these contaminants. As an advanced oxidation technology, ozone-catalyzed oxidation has attracted attention for its efficient degradation of PPCPs. This paper reviews the basic principles of the ozone-catalyzed oxidation process in removing PPCPs. Compared with homogeneous catalytic ozonation technology, multiphase catalytic ozonation technology has the advantages of easy recycling, lower cost of water treatment, higher activity, and improved mineralization of organic matter, etc., and these catalysts improve the removal efficiency of PPCPs by promoting the decomposition of ozone to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). This paper also discusses typical examples of degradation of PPCPs by ozone-catalyzed oxidation processes, including gemfibrozil(GMF), ibuprofen (IBP), and ciprofloxacin (CIP). Finally, limitations of existing studies and future research directions are presented.