International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Water recycling plays a prominent role, especially for water-consuming industries. Thus, wastewater purification becomes indispensable to achieve the ideal degree of quality. Electrochemical processes combined with ozonation are chosen as advanced treatments to be studied and developed in this work since they can operate at ambient conditions and are more efficient and compact when compared to other technologies. The plasma-deposited film used as an electrode seems to be a promising and interesting option. The main objective is to investigate the role of synergistic effects between ozone and plasma-deposited thin film electrodes in hybrid electrochemical and ozonation processes of water contaminants degradation. The essence of the process is to find both the active, sustained, and photostable plasmadeposited thin-film electrocatalysts, which enhance the degradation process with the combined action of ozone. Therefore, the chemical stability of developed thin films after contact with ozone is one of the significant requirements for further application.

The time being, one of the greatest concerns is the environmental pollution. Nowadays, various dangerous compounds reach to the air, soil and water. Pharmaceuticals, such as 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), are one of the most emerging pollutants in water ecosystems. Hence, powerful but green approaches should be developed in order to completely remove the pollutants. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a sustainable and efficient process in the removal of organic pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals. ZnO is one of the most commonly used semiconductors but also possess some drawbacks. In this study novel synthesis pathway of ZnO nanoparticles from banana peel extract was
obtained. Besides, the photocatalytic efficiency of the newly synthesized ZnO was examined in the degradation of EE2. Both the eco-friendly ZnO nanoparticles, as well as pure banana peel extract showed a promising photocatalytic activity in the degradation of EE2 under simulated solar irradiation (SSI). Namely, EE2 was completely degraded after 60 min of SSI.