Ozone-based advanced oxidation for removal of antibiotic amoxicillin from aqueous environment: operational parameters, kinetic and economic evaluation

Antibiotics are among pollutants detected in aquatic environments including effluents of wastewater treatment plants, surface and groundwater and also drinking water. Long term exposure to these compounds pose a threat not only to the health of human but also for aquatic organisms. This study investigates the removal of amoxicillin from aqueous environments using ozone and O ₃ /H ₂ O ₂ as advanced oxidation processes. Operational parameters including pH, amoxicillin concentration, reaction time and input ozone flow rate were systematically varied to determine optimal conditions. Results indicate favorable amoxicillin removal efficacy under optimal conditions: a reaction time of 30 minutes, pH of 10, amoxicillin concentration of 50 ppm, and input ozone flow rate of 500 mL/min, yielding an 89% removal efficiency alongside reductions of 21.93% in COD and 43.03% in TOC. Additionally, the O ₃ /H ₂ O ₂ process was explored to enhance antibiotic removal efficiency. Maximum removal efficiency of approximately 97% for amoxicillin was achieved under optimal conditions with H ₂ O ₂ dosage of 4 mL. Application of tert-butanol as radical scavenger confirmed the vital role of hydroxyl radicals in amoxicillin decomposition. Kinetic analysis revealed that both processes adhere to first-order kinetics. A cost analysis for these processes was performed to give an insight into the costs associated with these processes in large scale.