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Radiolytic decomposition of ciprofloxacin using γ irradiation in aqueous solution

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Abstract

Gamma irradiation-induced decomposition of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was elucidated with different additives, such as CO3 2−, NO3 −, NO2 −, humic acid, methanol, 2-propanol, and tert-butanol. The results show that low initial concentration and acidic condition were favorable for CIP removal during γ irradiation. By contrast, radiolytic decomposition of CIP was inhibited with the addition of anions and organic additives. As a strong carcinogen, Cr6+ was especially mixed with CIP to produce combined pollution. It is noteworthy that the removal of the mixture of CIP and Cr6+ presented a synergistic effect; the degradation efficiency of the two pollutants was markedly improved compared to that of the single pollutant during γ irradiation. Based on the results of quantum chemical calculations and LC-MS analysis, we determined seven kinds of degradation intermediates and presented the CIP degradation pathways, which were mainly attributed to the oxidation process of hydroxyl radicals OH· and the direct decomposition of CIP molecules.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41373023 and 21473092), Jiangsu Province research prospective joint research project (BY2013007-03), Jiangsu Province Environmental Protection research project (2014t016), Jiangsu Province “333 high-level talents project” and “Six major talent Summit,” Jiangsu Specially-Appointed Professor program (R2013T08), and A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaobing Guo, Shengnan Zhu, Hui Cao & Fengling Liu

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Zhaobing Guo, Shengnan Zhu, Hui Cao & Fengling Liu

  3. Institute of Application of Atomic Energy in Agriculture, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, People’s Republic of China

    Yongfu Zhao

Authors
  1. Zhaobing Guo
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  2. Shengnan Zhu
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  3. Yongfu Zhao
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  4. Hui Cao
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  5. Fengling Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhaobing Guo.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlight

1. We investigated the effect of different kinds of additives on CIP radiolytic removal.

2. The degradation of the mixture containing CIP and a strong carcinogen Cr6+ was conducted in order to seek for a new method for treating combined pollution.

3. CIP removal was mainly controlled by OH· oxidation and CIP direct decomposition on the basis of quantum chemical calculations and LC-MS analysis.

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Guo, Z., Zhu, S., Zhao, Y. et al. Radiolytic decomposition of ciprofloxacin using γ irradiation in aqueous solution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 15772–15780 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4715-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4715-0

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