Highly efficient degradation of ofloxacin by UV/Oxone/Co2+ oxidation process

Introduction

In this study, UV/Oxone/Co²⁺ oxidation process was applied to degradation of ofloxacin (OFL) in the presence of Co²⁺ as the catalytic and Oxone as the oxidant. The operation parameters including pH, temperature, dosages of reagents, and reaction time were studied in detail.

Results

The results showed that the optimum conditions for the UV/Oxone/Co²⁺ processes were determined as follows: temperature?=?25°C, pH?=?5.0, Oxone]?=?0.6?mmol/L, Oxone]/Co²⁺]?=?1,000, and reaction time?=?60?min. Under these conditions, 100% of the OFL degraded. The kinetics was also studied, and degradation of OFL by the UV/Oxone/Co²⁺ process could be described by first-order kinetics.

Conclusions

Mineralization of the process was investigated by measuring the total organic carbon (TOC), and the TOC decreased by 87.0% after 60?min. This process could be used as a pretreatment method for wastewater containing ofloxacin.