Sonochemical degradation of azithromycin in aqueous solution

Abstract

Background: The presence of pharmaceutical substances and their residual in water resources is an important environmental concern. Azithromycin, an antibiotic that is used for the treatment of infectious diseases, is a pollutant agent in the wastewater. The aim of this study was to investigate azithromycin degradation in aqueous solution through ultrasonic process in the presence of zinc oxide nanoparticles as catalysts. Methods: Sonocatalytic experiments were performed at variable conditions including pH (3-8), temperature (20-60°C), time (3-21 minutes), catalyst dosage (0.25-2 g/L), hydrogen peroxide concentration (15-100 mg/L) and initial azithromycin concentration (10-100 mg/L). Results: The optimum values for pH (3), temperature (40°C), time (15 minutes), catalyst dosage (1 g/L), H 2 O 2 concentration (50 mg/L) and initial azithromycin concentration (20 mg/L) were determined. The highest degradation efficiency of 98.4% was achieved after 15 minutes of ultrasonic irradiation under optimum condition. Conclusion: According to the results, ultrasonic irradiation is able to degrade azithromycin. In addition, ZnO and hydroxyl radical can successfully accelerate the reaction process in the shortest possible time.

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“… Yazdani and Sayadi (2018) , in studies using sonochemistry in AZI degradation, have shown that the pH has a significant effect on the AZI degradation, while temperature and contact time have a less significant effect. The experimental conditions in which 90.59% AZI degradation was achieved were temperature = 40 ⁰C, initial concentration of AZI = 20 mg L −1 , pH = 3, after 15 min and using low-frequency ultrasound (35 kHz), as shown in Fig.…”

“…The experimental conditions in which 90.59% AZI degradation was achieved were temperature = 40 ⁰C, initial concentration of AZI = 20 mg L −1 , pH = 3, after 15 min and using low-frequency ultrasound (35 kHz), as shown in Fig. 11 ( Yazdani and Sayadi, 2018 ).

Figure 11 (a) Changes of HCQ with the applied electric charge during electrochemical oxidation (EO), sono-assisted electrochemical oxidation (SEO), photo-assisted electrochemical oxidation (PEO) of HCQ in aqueous solution using BDD anode ( Bensalah et al 2020 ).

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“… AZI 100 ( De la Cruz et al, 2012 ) SC Anode = BDD; Cathode = Stainless steel; pH = 7.1; j = 20 mA cm −2 ; [Na 2 SO 4 ] = 0.05 mol L −1 ; [HCQ] = 250 mg L −1 ; Sonication power = 8.5 W. HCQ 26 ( Bensalah et al, 2020 ) SC Catalyst = 0.25 – 2 g L −1 ZnO nanoparticles; pH = 3 – 8; [H 2 O 2 ] = 15 – 100 mg L −1 ; [AZI] = 10 – 100 mg L −1 ; Ultrasonic device at a frequency of 35 kHz. AZI 98.4 ( Yazdani and Sayadi, 2018 ) Where: λ – wavelength (nm); BDD – boron doped diamond …”

“…The results obtained by the authors showed that degradation begins with the dealkylation of the aromatic ring and the formation of 7-chloro-4-quinoline amine (CQLA) in the first stage of oxidation, followed by the release of chloride ions.

Figure 12 Effect of temperature on AZI degradation using low-frequency ultrasound (35 kHz) at contaminant concentration = 40 mg L −1 , catalyst concentration = 1 g L −1 , time = 15 min, and pH = 3 ( Yazdani and Sayadi, 2018 ).

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“…The pharmacological active compounds (PhACs) are an important, emerging group of organic contaminants that are persistent and show toxicity. They produce active metabolites when released into aquatic environments [ 1 , 2 ]. These compounds enter into the environment from the pharmaceutical industries, hospitals, and municipal wastewater treatment plants and after consumption in agriculture and aquaculture [ 3 ].…”