In this work, the
capability of the catalytic wet air oxidation process (CWAO) using
a ruthenium-carbon nanosphere catalyst (CNS-Ru) for the degradation
of the widely spread antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CPF) has been investigated.
The effect of the operating conditions on oxidative process, as well
as different loads of ruthenium in the catalyst (1–10 wt %),
reusability of the solid, reaction kinetics, and the pollutant degradation
mechanism were investigated. The complete degradation of the pollutant
was achieved at only 90 min reaction time within the following operation
conditions: 140 °C, 20 bar, [CPF]0 = 20 mg·L–1, [CNS-Ru] = 0.67 g·L–1, 2
wt % of ruthenium, and initial pH 7.0. The catalyst was stable and
could be successfully reused within three consecutive cycles with
no loss of active phase. Two potential kinetic models were used for
simulating the kinetic behavior of CPF in noncatalytic and catalytic
processes. Finally, a degradation pathway involving 12 compounds was
proposed.
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