Degradation of enrofloxacin by Fe0 activated PDS

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of zero-valent iron (Fe0) activated persulfate (PDS) on the removal of enrofloxacin (ENR) was investigated, and the effect and mechanism were analyzed by exploring the effects of Fe0 concentration, PDS concentration, pH, and the influence of anion and aqueous matrix on the removal of ENR by the Fe0/PDS system. The results showed that when [ENR] = 20 µmol/L, [Fe0] = 0.15 g/L, [PDS] = 0.4 mmol/L, the removal rate of ENR was 85.3% at 90 min, the mainradicals were HO•, SO4•− and O2•−. At the same time, the system had a good mineralization effect (TOC removal rate > 40%), in addition, the system did not show obvious toxicity to soil microorganisms after the reaction, furthermore the Fe0/PDS system had a good removal effect on ENR in a wide pH range (4 ≤ pH ≤ 10). The Fe0/PDS system was more effective than ultrapure water in removing ENR in river water. The results of this experiment could provide a reference for the removal of antibiotics based on advanced oxidation techniques based on SO4•−.