Treatment of water and wastewater containing antibiotics by photo-oxidative processes: effect of bio-organic substances (BOS)

Abstract

In view of the current global scenario concerning the environment, the need to develop effective processes for the treatment of water and wastewater containing pharmaceutical compounds becomes an urgent concern. In this context, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) and the so called bioorganic substances (BOS), isolated from the organic fraction of solid waste, gain prominence. The main purpose of this project is to study the degradation of enrofloxacin (ENR), a quinolone antibiotic, by the H2O2-Fe(II)/Fe(III)/UV (photo-Fenton) process in the presence of BOS in different pH ranges. The experiments will be performed at the bench-scale level, under UV radiation (300-400 nm). Measurements of the antibiotic concentration (using high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) and total organic carbon (TOC) will be performed in order to evaluate the effect of BOS upon the process performance under different pH values. In addition, nitrate and fluoride analyses will be carried out for selected samples. The results will be discussed by means of response surface models.