PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF CHLORAMPHENICOL USING HYDROXYAPATITEDERIVED FROM EGG SHELLS

This paper investigated the photocatalytic degradation of Chloramphenicol using hydroxyapatite derived from eggshells via microwave--assisted synthesis. The photocatalytic degradation of Chloramphenicol was conducted under different parameters such as varying irradiation time for catalyst (10, 20 and 30 minutes), catalyst loading (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mg), and time exposure (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 hours). Chicken and duck eggshells are composed of calcium carbonate that is synthesized into hydroxyapatite by mixing with diammonium phosphate, (NH4)2HPO4, under microwave irradiation. Characterizations confirmed that the properties of the synthesized product are in line with the properties that is generally known as HA, in accordance to the data of characterizing the said catalyst presented from other studies. Also, the comparison of the different parameters of photocatalytic degradation showed the use of initial pollutant concentration of 25 mg/L with a catalyst loading of 0.8 mg HA with irradiation time 20 minutes in microwave under UV lights for 2.5 hours gave the most promising result, giving a percent degradation of Chloramphenicol approximately 80.92%. Overall, this study provided insight on the possible use of a waste material, particularly eggshells, as a source of HA and possibly, a greener way of handling wastewater.