Degradation of Paracetamol Adsorbed on Inorganic Supports Under UV Irradiation Patricio Baeza & Paulina Aballay & Camila Matus & Esteban Camú & M. Fernanda Ramirez & Johanna Eyzaguirre & Juan Ojeda Received: 12 September 2018 /Accepted: 15 January 2019 /Published online: 28 January 2019 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 Abstract The purpose of this piece of work is to study the process of adsorption of paracetamol on activated carbon, silica and alumina and their degradation using UV radiation. The results demonstrate a higher adsorp- tion of paracetamol on alumina and activated carbon, while a minor value was observed in the case of silica. The H-bonding and π-stacking interactions between paracetamol and supports can be explained by the var- iation in the adsorption capacity values. When the para- cetamol adsorbed was irradiated with two different UV irradiance values (59.78 mW cm - 2 and 119.56 mW cm -2 ) for 120 min, the higher degradation percentage was observed on activated carbon with a value of 79%. In the case of alumina and silica, the maximum percentages obtained were 65% and 77%, respectively. The incorporation of H 2 O 2 in the reaction medium increases the rate of degradation, mainly at higher irradiance, reaching the maximum values in less time. Keywords Paracetamol . Emerging contaminant . Adsorption . Inorganic supports . UV irradiation 1 Introduction In the last years, the presence of pharmaceutical com- pounds in the aquatic environment, such as surface water, groundwater urban wastewater and also in drink- ing water, has increased significantly (Harris et al. 2001). The main problem in regard to these pollutants is that their biological activity leads to adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and also creates adversely effects on soil organism (Sellaoui et al. 2017). Environmentally, concerning groups of pharmaceuticals include non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibi- otics, beta-blockers (b-blockers), antiepileptic drugs, blood lipid-lowering agents, antidepressants, hormones and antihistamines (Haque and Muneer 2007). Paracetamol (N-acetyl(p-aminophenol)) is consid- ered one of the best prescriptions all over the world, which is widely used as an analgesic and antipyretic drug. Concentration levels in the range of 1–6 mg L -1 have been detected in the European sewage treatment plant effluents, up to 10 mg L -1 in water samples from natural sources in the USA and more than 65 mg L -1 in the Tyne river in the UK (Kanakaraju et al. 2018). Water Air Soil Pollut (2019) 230: 34 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4095-z P. Baeza (*) : P. Aballay : C. Matus : E. Camú : M. Fernanda Ramirez : J. Eyzaguirre Instituto de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso, Chile J. Ojeda Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valparaíso, Casilla 5001, Valparaíso, Chile