Efficient degradation of amoxicillin by scaled-up electro-Fenton process: Attenuation of toxicity and decomposition mechanism. (10th June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Jianyu; Zheng, Chunli; Dai, Yujie; He, Chi; Liu, Hongxia; Chai, Shouning
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 381(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06-10
• Subjects: Electro-fenton -- Amoxicillin wastewater -- Hydroxyl radicals -- Degradation mechanism; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2021.138274
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Highlights: Feasibility of stainless steel cathode in EF pretreatment of antibiotics was investigated. 17.68 mgL −1 of H2 O2 was generated without external O2 aeration. 7 intermediates were observed and 2 reasonable degradation pathways were proposed. Acute toxicity of AMX wastewater was reduced by half. Abstract: In this work, a scaled-up electro-Fenton (EF) system was performed on the treatment of amoxicillin (AMX) wastewater. The effects of operational parameters on AMX degradation efficiency were investigated, such as Fe 2+ concentration, pH, applied current (mA) and initial AMX concentration. Kinetic analysis exhibited the degradation process followed the First-order kinetic model. Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied here to determine and analyze the optimum operating condition. Up to17.68 mgL −1 of H2 O2 could be in situ generated in 120 min without external O2 supply and reusability of the electrodes were analyzed. Moreover, a degradation mechanism with hydroxyl radicals (OH) as dominant oxidant was proposed. UPLC-MS analysis was performed to identify oxidation intermediates and thus a reasonable degradation pathway of AMX was speculated. Acute toxicity assessment showed a 50% decrease in bio-toxicity of the treated effluent. The EF system provided a new insight into the effective pretreatment of antibiotic wastewater. Graphical abstract: Image, graphical abstract