Sonocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin from aquaculture effluent by zinc oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) was effectively synthesised by precipitation method to catalyse the ultrasound degradation of amoxicillin aquaculture effluent. The nanoparticles at different calcination temperatures were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area determination. Characterisation results indicated that Zn existed as different compounds at different temperature, besides, pure zincite (ZnO) was obtained at 500 °C having a BET surface area of 8.39 m2/g. The degradation experiments indicated that the ultrasound/H2O2 system with nano-ZnO was more effective for amoxicillin degradation than they were independently. The ultrasound/H2O2 system with nano-ZnO could be described by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model. The addition of H2O2 and nano-ZnO to the ultrasound reactor enhanced the degradation of amoxicillin from 46.87% up to 98.9%. The recyclability and stability of nano-ZnO also showed that the catalytic activity of nano-ZnO during ultrasound degradation of amoxicillin was not lost up to five cycles. Thus, the application of ultrasound in the presence of H2O2 and nano-ZnO is favorable and effective for the remediation of aquaculture effluent.