Submicrometric Iron Particles for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Water: Application to b-Lactam Antibiotics

Potential of metallurgical iron-containing solid waste-based catalysts as activator of persulfate for organic pollutants degradation

The production of solid wastes in the metallurgical industry has significant implications for land resources and environmental pollution. To address this issue, it is crucial to explore the potential of recycling these solid wastes to reduce land occupation while protecting the environment and promoting resource utilization. Steel slag, red mud, copper slag and steel picking waste liquor are examples of solid wastes generated during the metallurgical process that possess high iron content and Fe species, making them excellent catalysts for persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes (PS-AOPs). This review elucidates the catalytic mechanisms and pathways of Fe2+ and Fe0 in the activation PS. Additionally, it underscores the potential of metallurgical iron-containing solid waste (MISW) as a catalyst for PS activation, offering a viable strategy for its high-value utilization. Lastly, the article provides an outlook towards future challenges and prospects for MISW in PS activation for the degradation of organic pollutants.

Efficient removal of antibiotic oxytetracycline from water using optimized montmorillonite-supported zero-valent iron nanocomposites

In this study, montmorillonite-supported nanoscaled zero-valent iron (Mt-nZVI) composites were fabricated using a facile liquid-phase reduction method to avoid serious agglomeration of nZVI particles in suspensions due to magnetic effect. The morphology, crystal structure, functional groups, and magnetic properties of as-prepared composites were explored using scanning and transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, zeta potential analyzer, and superconducting quantum interference device. The fabricated composites were then applied to remove antibiotic oxytetracycline from water. The optimal weight ratio of the Mt particles (mean size, 25 μm) to the nZVI particles (size, 60-100 nm) was first determined to be 2:1 (simply denoted as 2Mt-nZVI). Experimental results showed that 99% of 100 mg/L oxytetracycline at pH 5.0 was removed using 0.6 g/L of the 2Mt-nZVI composite and the mineralization reached 70% after 20 min of reaction. Finally, the transformation products and intermediates were detected and identified by a high-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and the pathways were proposed during the degradation of oxytetracycline over the 2Mt-nZVI composite.

Oxidative Degradation of Amoxicillin in Aqueous Solution by Thermally Activated Persulfate

Antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pose a great threat to public health and food security via the horizontal transfer in the food production chain. Oxidative degradation of amoxicillin (AMO) in aqueous solution by thermally activated persulfate (TAP) was investigated. The AMO degradation followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model at all tested conditions. The pseudo-first-order rate constants of AMO degradation well-fitted the Arrhenius equation when the reaction temperature ranged from 35°C to 60°C, with the apparent activate energy of 126.9 kJ·mol−1. High reaction temperature, high initial persulfate concentration, low pH, high Cl− concentration, and humic acid (HA) concentration increased the AMO degradation efficiency. The EPR test demonstrated that both ·OH and SO4·− were generated in the TAP system, and the radical scavenging test identified that the predominant reactive radical species were SO4·− in aqueous solution without adjusting the solution pH. In groundwater and drinking water, AMO degradation suggested that TAP could be a reliable technology for water remediation contaminated by AMO in practice.

Simultaneous removal of amoxicillin, ampicillin and penicillin by clay supported Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles

This study examined functional bentonite-supported nanoscale Fe/Ni (B-Fe/Ni) for the simultaneous removal of β-lactam antibiotics such as amoxicillin (AMX), ampicillin (AMP) and penicillin (PEN). The results show only 94.6% of AMX, 80.6% of AMP and 53.7% of PEN were removed in the mixed antibiotic solution, while 97.5% of AMX, 85.1% of AMP and 74.5% of PEN were removed in individual antibiotic solution. The decreased removal in a mixed antibiotic solution was attributed to competition between antibiotics for: firstly, active sites of iron oxide for the adsorption; and secondly, accepted electrons for the degradation in passivation of the nZVI surface. These were confirmed by various characterization techniques. Kinetics studies of mixed antibiotics using B-Fe/Ni confirmed that adsorption and degradation occurred simultaneously as removing of antibiotics in the presence of particles. Furthermore, the stability and durability of B-Fe/Ni applied to remove β-lactam antibiotics was demonstrated. Finally, B-Fe/Ni was used to reduce the concentration of mixed antibiotics from pharmaceutical wastewater, which indicated B-Fe/Ni is a promising material for antibiotics wastewater treatment.

Comparative study of the formation of brominated disinfection byproducts in UV/persulfate and UV/H2O2 oxidation processes in the presence of bromide

The objective of this research was to compare the transformation of Br^- and formation of brominated byproducts in UV/persulfate (PS) and UV/H₂O₂ processes. It was revealed that Br^- was efficiently transformed to free bromine which reacted with humic acid (HA) or dihydroxybenzoic acid resulting in the formation of brominated byproducts such as bromoacetic acids (BAAs) in UV/PS system. In contrast, no free bromine and brominated byproducts could be detected in UV/H₂O₂ system, although the oxidization of Br^- was evident. We presumed that the oxidation of Br^- by hydroxyl radicals led to the formation of bromine radicals. However, the bromine radical species could be immediately reduced back to Br^- by H₂O₂ before coupling to each other to form free bromine, which explains the undetection of free bromine and BAAs in UV/H₂O₂. In addition to free bromine, we found that the phenolic functionalities in HA molecules, which served as the principal reactive sites for free chlorine attack, could be in situ generated when HA was exposed to free radicals. This study demonstrates that UV/H₂O₂ is more suitable than UV/PS for the treatment of environmental matrices containing Br^-. Graphical abstract Graphical abstract.