Insight into the rapid elimination of low-concentration antibiotics from natural waters using tandem multilevel reactive electrochemical membranes: Role of direct electron transfer and hydroxyl radical oxidation

Kui Yang; Xingwei Feng; Hui Lin; Jiale Xu; Cao Yang; Juan Du; Dengmiao Cheng; Sihao Lv; Zhifeng Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127239

Insight into the rapid elimination of low-concentration antibiotics from natural waters using tandem multilevel reactive electrochemical membranes: Role of direct electron transfer and hydroxyl radical oxidation

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Feb 5;423(Pt B):127239. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127239. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Authors

Kui Yang¹, Xingwei Feng², Hui Lin³, Jiale Xu⁴, Cao Yang⁵, Juan Du⁵, Dengmiao Cheng⁵, Sihao Lv⁵, Zhifeng Yang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
³ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China. Electronic address: linhui@dgut.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States.
⁵ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China.
⁶ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China. Electronic address: zfyang@gdut.edu.cn.

PMID: 34844357
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127239

Abstract

Herein, we reported a tandem multilevel reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) system was promising for the rapid and complete removal of trace antibiotics from natural waters. Results indicate that a four-stage REM module-in-series system achieved steady over 98% removal of model antibiotic norfloxacin (NOR, 100 μg·L^-1) from wastewater treatment plant final effluent and surface water with a residence time of 5.4 s, and the electric energy consumption was only around 0.007-0.011 kWh·m^-3. As for the oxidation mechanism, direct electron transfer (DET) oxidation process played an important role in NOR rapid oxidation, enabling the REM system to tolerate various ^•OH scavenges in natural waters, including natural organic matters, Cl^- and HCO₃^-, even at very high concentration levels. Meanwhile, ^•OH-mediated indirect oxidation process promotes the oxidation and mineralization of NOR. Although the DET-dominated oxidation mechanism makes the REM system cannot achieve the complete mineralization of NOR with residence times of few seconds, the antibacterial activity from NOR was completely eliminated. This REM system featured effective removal performance of trace contaminants with low energy cost and was tolerant to complex waster matrix, suggesting that it could be a powerful supplementary step for wastewater/water treatment.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Cost efficiency; Flow-through electrooxidation process; Norfloxacin; Oxidation mechanism.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Electrodes
Electrons
Hydroxyl Radical*
Oxidation-Reduction
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Hydroxyl Radical