title: Removal of chlortetracycline from spiked municipal wastewater using a photoelectrocatalytic process operated under sunlight irradiations.
abstract: The degradation of chlortetracycline in synthetic solution and in municipal effluent was investigated using a photoelectrocatalytic oxidation process under visible irradiation. The N-doped TiO₂ used as photoanode with 3.4 at.% of nitrogen content was prepared by means of a radiofrequency magnetron sputtering (RF-MS) process. Under visible irradiation, higher photoelectrocatalytic removal efficiency of CTC was recorded using N-doped TiO₂ compared to the conventional electrochemical oxidation, direct photolysis and photocatalysis processes. The photoelectrocatalytic process operated at 0.6A of current intensity during 180 min of treatment time promotes the degradation of 99.1 ± 0.1% of CTC. Under these conditions, removal rates of 85.4 ± 3.6%, 87.4 ± 3.1% and 55.7 ± 2.9% of TOC, TN and NH₄(+) have been recorded. During the treatment, CTC was mainly transformed into CO₂ and H₂O. The process was also found to be effective in removing indicator of pathogens such as fecal coliform (log-inactivation was higher than 1.2 units).
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Eau, Terre et Environnement, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec, Qc G1K 9A9, Canada. Electronic address: rimeh.daghrir@ete.inrs.ca.
authors.forename: Rimeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Daghrir
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Drogui
authors.forename: Nazar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Delegan
authors.forename: My Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Khakani
mesh_terms: D002751:Chlortetracycline / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010782:Photolysis; D011792:Quebec; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013472:Sunlight; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D002751:Chlortetracycline; D009584:Nitrogen; D014025:Titanium; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C009495:titanium dioxide
keywords: Chlortetracycline; Municipal wastewater; Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation; Sunlight irradiation