Removal of β-lactam antibiotics from pharmaceutical wastewaters using photo-Fenton process at near-neutral pH.
In this work, the photo-Fenton process at near-neutral pH was applied for the removal of the β-lactam antibiotic oxacillin (OXA) in water using artificial and sunlight. Initially, the main variables of the process (Fe(II), H2O2, and light power) were optimized by a statistical factorial design (23with center points). The experimental design indicated that 90 μmol L-1of Fe(II), 10 mmol L-1of H2O2, and 30 W of power light were the favorable conditions for degradation of OXA at 203 μmol L-1. In the photo-Fenton system, the H2O2alone, UV-light/H2O2, and Fe(II)/H2O2subsystems presented a significant participation on antibiotic removal. Moreover, based on the primary organic transformation products, a mechanism of OXA degradation was proposed. Under the favorable operational conditions, both the pollutant and the antimicrobial activity were eliminated after 50 min of process application. Although at 480 min of treatment, only 5% of mineralization was achieved, the level of biodegradability of the solutions increased from 0.08 to 0.98. Interestingly, the presence of pharmaceutical additives (glucose, isopropanol, and oxalic acid) had a moderate interference on the efficiency of the pollutant removal. Additionally, the treatment at pilot scale of the β-lactam antibiotic in a pharmaceutical complex matrix using solar radiation allowed the complete removal of the pollutant and its associated antimicrobial activity in a very short time period (5 min). These results evidenced the applicability of the photo-Fenton process to treat wastewaters from pharmaceutical industry loaded with β-lactam antibiotics at near neutral pH values efficiently.
Grupo de Diseño y Formulación de Medicamentos, Cosméticos y Afines (DYFOMECO), Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Ana L
AL
Giraldo-Aguirre
Grupo de Investigación en Remediación Ambiental y Biocatálisis (GIRAB), Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Efraím A
EA
Serna-Galvis
Grupo de Diseño y Formulación de Medicamentos, Cosméticos y Afines (DYFOMECO), Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Edgar D
ED
Erazo-Erazo
Grupo de Investigación en Remediación Ambiental y Biocatálisis (GIRAB), Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Javier
J
Silva-Agredo
Grupo de Diseño y Formulación de Medicamentos, Cosméticos y Afines (DYFOMECO), Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Héctor
H
Giraldo-Ospina
Grupo de Diseño y Formulación de Medicamentos, Cosméticos y Afines (DYFOMECO), Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
Oscar A
OA
Flórez-Acosta
Grupo de Investigación en Remediación Ambiental y Biocatálisis (GIRAB), Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia. ricardo.torres@udea.edu.co.
Ricardo A
RA
Torres-Palma
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007501:Iron; D008027:Light; D010068:Oxacillin; D019815:Oxalic Acid; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D013472:Sunlight; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D047090:beta-Lactams
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D007501:Iron; D010068:Oxacillin; D019815:Oxalic Acid; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D047090:beta-Lactams
Advanced oxidation process; Antimicrobial activity; Matrix effects; Near-neutral pH; Photo-Fenton; Water treatment