Zebrafish toxicity assessment of the photocatalysis-biodegradation of diclofenac using composites of TiO 2 and activated carbon from Argania spinosa tree nutshells and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The occurrence and persistence of pharmaceutical products (PPs) in the environment have recently been well-documented and are a major concern for public health. Their incidence in aquatic ecosystems is the result of their direct release without any prior treatment or insufficient wastewater treatment. Therefore, an efficient and safe posttreatment process for removing PPs must be developed. In this study, we focused on the ability of photocatalysis or combined photocatalysis and biodegradation to effectively and safely remove diclofenac (DCF) and its by-products from water. The heterogeneous photocatalysis system was based on bio-sourced activated carbon obtained from Argania spinosa tree nutshells and Degussa P25 titanium dioxide (ACP-TiO 2 ), and biodegradation involved Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Toxicity tests were conducted with zebrafish embryos to evaluate the applicability of the treatment processes. The results showed that photocatalytic treatment with 0.1 mg/L of ACP-TiO 2 9% for 7.5 h is sufficient to eliminate DCF (50 mg L −1 ) and its by-products from water. Low levels of malformation (< 20%) were detected in zebrafish embryos treated with photocatalyzed DCF solutions at 1, 5, and 7 mg L −1 after 4 days of exposure. After 3 h of incubation, P. aeruginosa was found to reduce the toxicity of DCF (10 mg L −1 ) photocatalyzed for 2 and 4 h. Additional studies should be conducted to elucidate the biodegradation mechanism.