Degradation of levofloxacin from antibiotic wastewater by pulse electrochemical oxidation with BDD electrode

Tao Xu; Xiting Tang; Meiting Qiu; Xiaoliu Lv; Yang Shi; Yihui Zhou; Yanfei Xie; Mu Naushad; Su Shiung Lam; Hui Suan Ng; Christian Sonne; Shengbo Ge

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118718

Degradation of levofloxacin from antibiotic wastewater by pulse electrochemical oxidation with BDD electrode

J Environ Manage. 2023 Oct 15:344:118718. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118718. Epub 2023 Aug 2.

Authors

Tao Xu¹, Xiting Tang², Meiting Qiu², Xiaoliu Lv³, Yang Shi⁴, Yihui Zhou⁵, Yanfei Xie⁶, Mu Naushad⁷, Su Shiung Lam⁸, Hui Suan Ng⁹, Christian Sonne¹⁰, Shengbo Ge¹¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Science, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China.
² School of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China.
³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
⁴ Co‑Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China.
⁵ College of Science, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China; Aerospace Kaitian Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Changsha, 410100, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ People's Hospital of Ningxiang City, Ningxiang, Hunan, 410600, China.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia; Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Centre for Research and Graduate Studies, University of Cyberjaya, Persiaran Bestari, 63000, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, PO Box 358, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
¹¹ Co‑Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China; Aerospace Kaitian Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Changsha, 410100, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37541001
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118718

Abstract

Antibiotic-containing wastewater is a typical biochemical refractory organic wastewater and general treatment methods cannot effectively and quickly degrade the antibiotic molecules. In this study, a novel boron-doped diamond (BDD) pulse electrochemical oxidation (PEO) technology was proposed for the efficient removal of levofloxacin (LFXN) from wastewater. The effects of current density (j), initial pH (pH₀), frequency (f), electrolyte types and initial concentration (c₀(LFXN)) on the degradation of LFXN were systematically investigated. The degradation kinetics under four different processes have also been studied. The possible degradation mechanism of LFXN was proposed by Density functional theory calculation and analysis of degradation intermediates. The results showed that under the optimal parameters, the COD removal efficiency (η(COD)) was 94.4% and the energy consumption (EEC) was 81.43 kWh·m^-3 at t = 120 min. The degradation of LFXN at pH = 2.8/c(H₂O₂) followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The apparent rate constant was 1.33 × 10^-2 min^-1, which was much higher than other processes. The degradation rate of LFXN was as follows: pH = 2.8/c(H₂O₂) > pH = 2.8 > pH = 7/c(H₂O₂) > pH = 7. Ten aromatic intermediates were formed during the degradation of LFXN, which were further degraded to F^-, NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, CO₂ and H₂O. This study provides a promising approach for efficiently treating LFXN antibiotic wastewater by pulsed electrochemical oxidation with a BDD electrode without adding H₂O₂.

Keywords: BDD electrode; Degradation mechanism; Levofloxacin; Parameter optimization; Pulse electrochemical oxidation.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Boron / chemistry
Diamond / chemistry
Electrodes
Hydrogen Peroxide
Levofloxacin / analysis
Oxidation-Reduction
Wastewater*
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / chemistry

Substances

Wastewater
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Levofloxacin
Hydrogen Peroxide
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Boron
Diamond