Removal of Antibiotics From Hospital Wastewater Using Hybrid Chemical Purification and Batch Biological Reactor

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the performance of tetracycline and amoxicillin antibiotics removal from hospital wastewater using a combination of chemical treatment and Batch biological reactor. Methods: In this study, the effect of PS/Fe2+/UV on tetracycline and amoxicillin removal was investigated. Different parameters including pH, different concentrations of iron, antibiotics and persulfate were investigated for removal efficiency. The remaining concentration of the solution was measured using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) device. The degree of mineralization of the process was evaluated using the chemical oxygen demand (COD) parameter. Then, the removal of tetracycline, amoxicillin and COD from the pre-treated wastewater in the batch biological reactor was investigated. Results: The results demonstrate that the PS/Fe2+/UV process achieved complete removal of tetracycline and 97.3% removal of amoxicillin under laboratory conditions. In wastewater treatment, the process achieved a 69% reduction in tetracycline and a 67.2% reduction in amoxicillin within a 60-minute reaction time. Also, the amount of mineralization of tetracycline and amoxicillin antibiotics by PS/Fe2+/UV process was evaluated using COD index, which resulted in removal of more than 60% of COD for both antibiotics. Also, the combination of this process and the batch biological reactor succeeded in removing 99% of BOD5 from both antibiotics and 98% of COD from real wastewater, containing 10 mg of tetracycline and amoxicillin. Conclusion: The combined PS/Fe2+/UV process and batch biological reactor is an efficient method. It is effective for removing antibiotics and its mineralization for wastewater treatment containing tetracycline and amoxicillin antibiotics.