Performance of Solar-based Electrochemical System as Post-treatment of Hospital Wastewater Contaminated with Ciprofloxacin

T his research evaluated performance of a solar-based electrochemical system as a post-treatment of hospital wastewater contaminated with Ciprofloxacin (CIP), an antibiotic drug. Two laboratory-scale electrochemical units, and consisting of 2-5 anode and 1-4 cathode plates, were employed. Two types of electrode plates, aluminum (Al) and stainless steel (Ss), were installed in the units and their treatment efficiencies were investigated. Optimum conditions of the electrochemical system were determined by using a synthetic wastewater containing 0.01-20 mg/L of CIP (batch system); these experimental results were validated by using an actual hospital wastewater and a solar-based electrochemical system (continuous system). The experimental results of the batch system showed that the maximum CIP removal of 69% could be achieved at 10 minutes of hydraulic retention time (HRT), 18 volts in a voltage of power source (VPS), 83 A/m2 of current density (CD), and 1 cm of inter-electrode distance (IED) on Al plates. Similar results in the continuous system were obtained when the electrochemical system was fed with hospital wastewater containing CIP of about 350 ng/L. Application of solar-based energy in the electrochemical system showed similar efficiency of CIP removal, suggesting the applicability of the clean energy system for post-treatment of hospital wastewater containing antibiotic drugs