Potential of Laterite Soil Coupling Fenton Reaction in Acetaminophen (ACT) Removal in Constructed Wetlands

Abstract

The wide use of Acetaminophen (ACT) for pain relief and lack of ability of most wastewater treatment plants to treat ACT residues have increased the risk of surface and groundwater contamination. Constructed wetlands (CW) are a low cost technology for effective wastewater treatment to treat micro-pollutants through the roles of CW media such as adsorption and Fenton reaction. This study aimed to characterize the potential of laterite soil as a CW media for ACT removal from wastewater through Fenton reaction. The experimental data showed enrichment of rhizosphere with exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) under ACT contaminant water (hospital wastewater). The contributions of plant uptake and Fenton reaction for ACT removal were found to be 0.04-1.35 and 35.34%, respectively. Media adsorption together with other factors (i.e., microbial degradation and by-product transformation) constituted about 60.76-64.61% of ACT removal. The laterite soil media coupling Fenton reaction was found promising due to advanced degradation of ACT, yielding inorganic, and less toxic final products.