Electrochemical removal of metoprolol using graphite-polyvinyl chloride composite as anode

Abstract

Metoprolol is one of pharmaceuticals that used for treatment of angina, heart failure, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and hypertensionand. It was frequently detected in wastewater samples. The application of graphite-PVC composite as anode was investigated for the degradation of metoprolol in the presence of strong electrolytes such as NaCl. The removal was strongly influenced by initial concentrations of metoprolol, NaCl and applied voltage. An initial concentration of 10 mg/L was eliminated more than 90% after 60 min under optimum conditions. The consumption energy of the electrochemical reaction was 0.665 Wh/mg while it was 2.717 Wh/mg for metoprolol in 0.5 g and 0.1 g NaCl, respectively at 5 V. The degradation results were monitored using liquid chromatography-time of flight/mass spectrometry.