Background and Aim: High concentrations of antibiotics are now detected in aquatic environments, reducing their quality. These compounds generally have a high toxicity and low biodegradability, and some are reported to have mutagenic and/or carcinogenic characteristics. Conventional treatment systems have proven inadequate to effectively remove this type of organic compound, largely due to its complex molecular structure. Therefore, it is necessary to remove an effective method for the removal of these compounds is suggested. The purpose of this study was to apply zero-valent iron nanoparticles in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and the process of sonolysis in the removal of antibiotic amoxicillin from aquatic environments.
Materials and Methods: This research was carried out on a laboratory scale on a synthetic wastewater containing amoxicillin antibiotic that the effects of some parameters, such as ultrasound (35 and 130 kHz), contact time (30–150 min), concentration of hydrogen peroxide (0.5–3 %), concentrations of nZVI (0.06–0.2 g/L), pH (3–10), and concentration of AMX (45–100 mg/L) were investigated.
Results: Optimum removal conditions were pH = 3, H₂O₂ concentration= 1%, ultrasonic frequency= 130 kHz and nZVI concentration= 0.2 g/L. so that 97.3% of amoxicillin antibiotic after 150 min of reaction at pH=3, nZVI= 0.1 g/L, ultrasonic frequency= 130 kH, H₂O₂ =1% and 45 mg/L concentration of AMX was removed.
Conclusion: The experiments showed the efficient removal of amoxicillin antibiotic in wastewater by Fenton’s oxidation process. The efficiency of this method can also be considered in eliminating other antibiotics resistant to biological treatment.