Co-Authors:
Samara, M., Institute of Soils, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel
Nasser, A., Institute of Soils, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel
Mingelgrin, U., Institute of Soils, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel
Abstract:
Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a drug used for treating epilepsy, neuropathic pain, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Its widespread use is indicated by its listing in the WHO's Model List of Essential Medicines. The accumulation of CBZ in various environmental compartments, specifically in crops irrigated with treated effluent or grown on soils containing biosolids, is often reported. Being a persistent PPCP (a pharmaceutical and personal care product), developing procedures to remove CBZ is of great importance. In the present study, the breakdown of CBZ by surface reactions in contact with various minerals was attempted. While Al-montmorillonite enhanced CBZ disappearance without the need to apply mechanical force, the efficiency of magnetite in enhancing the disappearance increased considerably upon applying such force. Ball milling with magnetite generated a virtually complete disappearance of CBZ (∼94% of the applied CBZ disappeared after milling for 30 min). HPLC, LC/MS and FTIR were employed in an attempt to elucidate the rate of disappearance and degradation mechanisms of CBZ. A small amount of the hydrolysis product iminostilbene was identified by LC/MS and the breaking off of carbamic acid from the fused rings skeleton of CBZ was indicated by FTIR spectroscopy, confirming the formation of iminostilbene. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd