Advanced oxidation processes for antibiotics removal in aqueous environment

Abstract

Antibiotics, as the most widely used medicine, have been detected in surface water, urban wastewater treatment plants, and soil. The distribution and degradation of antibiotics have received wide attention due to the "pseudo-persistence" and worldwide transmissions of resistance genes. Of all water treatment processes employed to degrade antibiotics, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on O3, H2O2, or persulfate exhibit extraordinary advantages on the rapid degradation and mineralization of various antibiotics. In this paper, several AOPs employed to degrade antibiotics including research status and applications were reviewed. Most of AOPs are pH-dependent and non-selective, thus pH and common inorganic ions in aquatic background substances have shown the significant influence on the removal efficiency of antibiotics. The characteristics of the ideal technology are proposed and the future research needs for antibiotics degradation are suggested accordingly.