Catalytic Ozonation of Sulfonamide, Fluoroquinolone, and Tetracycline Antibiotics Using Nano-Magnesium Hydroxide from Natural Bischofite

Abstract

Huge amounts of natural bischofite (MgCl2∙6H2O) resulting from the mining process of salt lakes often cannot be utilized effectively and are discarded; techniques for reutilization of the discarded bischofite as magnesium resources are limited. The nano-magnesium hydroxide (nano-Mg(OH)2) synthesized from natural bischofite was firstly used as catalyst for ozonation of antibiotics including sulfathiazole (ST), ofloxacin (OFL), and tetracycline (TC). Rapid ozonation of ST, OFL, and TC was achieved using nano-Mg(OH)2 as catalyst. The removal rate constant of OFL in the catalytic ozonation treatment (kOFL = 0.512 min−1) was nearly 2.1 times higher than the single ozonation (kOFL = 0.249 min−1). The removal rate constant of ST and TC increased by 23.5% and 32.8% from 0.298 min−1 and 0.384 min−1 to 0.368 min−1 and 0.510 min−1, respectively, when the catalyst was added into the reaction system. The removal rate constant of ST sharply increased from 0.259 to 0.604 min−1 when the reaction temperature increased from 15 to 35 °C while those of OFL and TC changes slightly. The removal efficiency sharply decreased when the initial concentration of ST, OFL, and TC increased from 10 to 500 mg L−1. Both anions and cations could inhibit the removal of ST, OFL, and TC at relatively higher concentrations. The prepared nano-Mg(OH)2 catalyst could maintain its catalytic activity in the repeated use process. High removal efficiency of typical antibiotics and heavy metals free indicated that nano-Mg(OH)2 from natural bischofite is a promising ozonation catalyst in terms of antibiotics removal.