Development of a Percarbonate-Enhanced Vacuum Uv Process for Simultaneous Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics Removal and Fecal Bacteria Inactivation Under a Continuous Flow Mode of Operation Publisher



Mohammadi S¹ ; Moussavi G¹ ; Yaghmaeian K² ; Giannakis S³
Source: Chemical Engineering Journal Published:2022

Abstract

The Vacuum UV-based processes are a new class of advanced treatment processes that have been proved to be efficient in the degradation of various types of contaminants. Herein, using sodium percarbonate (PC) as a source or replacement of (liquid) H2O2 was investigated, assessed by its enhancement of the VUV process (VUV/PC); the degradation of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) as a model emerging contaminant (antibiotic) and in the inactivation of E. coli as an indicator of microbial pollution were assessed. The highest CIP degradation and mineralization was achieved at neutral pH and PC concentration of 20 mg/L: 83.6% of CIP could be removed through the oxidation with hydroxyl and carbonate radicals and was x2 and x3 times faster than the sole VUV process under identical conditions. Treating the CIP-laden solution in the VUV/PC process resulted in considerable reduction of the toxicity. The VUV and VUV/PC processes were also operated under a continuous flow mode for degrading/mineralizing CIP and inactivating E. coli in tap water. The VUV/PC achieved complete degradation of CIP and inactivation of E. coli in spiked tap water was achieved at a hydraulic retention time of 5 and 3 min, respectively. Overall, using PC is an efficient and safe surrogate of H2O2, which can further improve the performance of the VUV process for the degradation, mineralization, and detoxification of emerging water contaminants alongside with the effective disinfection of contaminated waters. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.