Degradation of Metronidazole Antibiotic from Aqueous Medium in the Continuous Up-Flow Fixed-Bed Reactor: Activated Carbon as Persulfate Activator

فاقد چكيده فارسي

Activation of persulfate (PS) in the presence of granular activated carbon (AC) was studied in order to investigate the degradation of metronidazole (MTZ) in the continuous up-flow fixed-bed reactor. A cylindrical glass reactor was filled with 45 g granular AC. Influent wastewater, a mixture of MTZ and PS with the concentrations of 1000 mg/L and 15000 mg/L, respectively, was entered into the reactor with a flowrate of 6 mL/min and a hydraulic retention time of 6 min. The results showed that both adsorption and oxidation processes induced MTZ removal in the PS/AC system. After 20 min, the MTZ and COD removals were 75 and 70%, respectively, and these values gradually decreased to 50 and 46% after 120 min due to the saturation of the AC and occupy of available active sites for sulfate radical production. The results showed that the fixed-bed reactor was a promising technology for sulfate radical based advanced oxidation process.