## 1 Introduction  
Photocatalysis provides a cost-effective and straightforward method for water purification, particularly in regions with abundant solar irradiation. However, its application is mostly limited to developing countries and is often associated with low levels of innovation [1, 2, 3]. In recent years, numerous studies have explored wastewater treatment through photocatalysis under visible light irradiation. Still, only a limited number have focused on the application of direct sunlight for this purpose. Of these, noteworthy studies have demonstrated the successful removal of emerging pollutants (EPs) from water using either direct sunlight or simulated solar irradiation [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The EPs, subsumed under the broader category of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), encompasses an extensive array of substances including pharmacological agents, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and pesticides, as well as their metabolic byproducts, with over a thousand such entities documented within aquatic settings. A notable current challenge associated with EPs is the limitation of extant wastewater treatment technologies, such inefficacies contribute to the sustained presence of EPs in aquatic ecosystems and in reclaimed waters utilized for irrigation purposes, thereby harboring potential repercussions for environmental integrity and public health [8; 9; 10; 11]. In recent years, significant scientific efforts have focused on developing methods for the removal of emerging pollutants from water, either targeting specific compounds or entire pollutant groups. A variety of approaches have been explored, with many studies employing techniques such as adsorption and advanced oxidation processes, including photocatalysis, among other methods [11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19]. While many of these studies have been performed in laboratory settings, comprehensive studies have also investigated the elimination of EPs in real wastewater from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or WWTPs processing industrial wastewater (IWMPTs) [20; 21; 22; 23; 24], including agri-food IWWTPs due to the hazards posed by EPs related to pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, etc.) [25; 26; 27; 28]. In recent studies conducted by our research team on effluents from a IWWTPs of an agri-food sector company located in the Murcia Region (one of the leading agricultural regions in Europe for citrus and fresh vegetable production), recurrent traces of pesticides and fungicides have been identified [29; 30; 31]. While current regulations do not require the company to carry out such analyses to detect emerging pollutants, they occasionally choose to do so; as a general trend, glyphosate has been identified as the most widely used pesticide in the area. However, in recent years, other EPs, such as Acetamiprid, Imazali, Thiabendazole, 2-Phenylphenol, Hexythiazox, Pyriproxyfen, Metalaxyl, or 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-methyl-pyrimidine (AHMPD), have been increasingly detected. The potential prohibition of glyphosate may have led to an increase in the use of other families of pesticides [32]; however, in November 2023, the EU renewed the approval of the active substance glyphosate for 10 years. (_E_)-N-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-\(N^{\prime}\)-cyano-\(N\)-methylacetamide, known as Acetamiprid, is one of the identified pesticides that appears frequently throughout the year in the effluent analyses available. Acetamiprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used on leafy vegetables, citrus, grapes, cherries, etc. [33; 34; 35]. Neonicotinoid pesticides have been used worldwide since the early 1990s; they exhibit high target efficacy, excellent physicochemical properties, and a wide spectrum of efficacy and low mammalian toxicity, making them strong candidates in future scenarios without glyphosate [32; 35].