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Modeling of antibiotic degradation in sonophotocatalytic process, increasing biodegradability and process optimization by response surface methodology (RSM)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to study the degradation of β-lactam antibiotics in aqueous solutions by ultrasonic along with UV/immobilized ZnO catalyst. The variables such as contact time, antibiotic concentration, and ZnO dose were studied according to the response surface methodology. In the optimum condition, the removal efficiency of 94.2% for PCG and 84.2% for CFX was obtained. The BOD5/COD ratio in the optimum condition increased from 0 to about 0.4. The quadratic and linear model was well fitted with test results (R2 = 0.871–0.996). The results showed that sonophotocatalytic process led to the effective degradation of the PCG and CFX and their enhanced biodegradability.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AOPs:

Advanced oxidation processes

BOD5:

Biochemical oxygen demand

CCD:

Central composition design

CFX:

Cefixime

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

CV:

Coefficient of variation

DES:

Design of expert software

PCG:

Penicillin G

RSM:

Response surface methodology

SD:

Standard deviation

US:

Ultrasonic

UV:

Ultraviolet

ZnO:

Zinc oxide

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Grant No: 97465) for its financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    A. Almasi, M. Mohammadi, F. Baniamerian & M. H. Almasi

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    A. Almasi, M. Mohammadi & M. H. Almasi

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Larestan University of Medical Sciences, Larestan, Iran

    Z. Berizi

  4. Student Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Z. Pariz

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  1. A. Almasi
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  5. M. H. Almasi
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Correspondence to M. Mohammadi.

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Editorial responsibility: Binbin Huang.

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Almasi, A., Mohammadi, M., Baniamerian, F. et al. Modeling of antibiotic degradation in sonophotocatalytic process, increasing biodegradability and process optimization by response surface methodology (RSM). Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 8437–8448 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02307-5

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