Removal of pharmaceuticals from the urine of polymedicated patients: A first approach

- Total mineralization of organics contained in urine.
- Faster depletion of pharmaceutical products than of natural organic pollutants.
- Formation of perchlorate as a major drawback.
- Small effect of the current density applied on the performance of the treatment.

The electrolysis with diamond anodes of synthetic urines containing different concentrations of ibuprofen and cloxacillin is evaluated in this work, with the aim of determining if this technology is effective in the mineralization of both species in urine matrix and the main characteristics of the competitive oxidation among these two products and the natural organic compounds contained in urine (uric acid, creatinine and urea). Results point out that electrolytic technology can mineralize all organic contained in the urine very efficiently and that oxidation of the two pharmaceuticals is faster than that of the natural products contained in urine, opening the possibility of a selective treatment of the urine up to the point in which it can be merged safely with domestic wastewater without generating a negative impact on environment. Occurrence of perchlorate is the main drawback of this technology, although its impact is not believed to be as serious as the impact of the pharmaceuticals on environment.

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