Evaluation of the Electro-Fenton efficiency in removal of Antibiotic Metronidazole from aqueous solutions

Background and Aim: Metronidazole is one of the antibiotics that are widely used and resistant to biodegradation, it is one of the most important pollutants in the environment. The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of the Electro-Fenton process for removing metronidazole from synthetic wastewater using iron electrode under operating different conditions. Materials and Methods: The present study was an experimental, laboratory-scale study that was done discontinuously. The effect of soluble pH variables (11, 9, 7, 5, 3), initial concentration of metronidazole (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg/ L), electrode spacing (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 cm), hydrogen peroxide concentration (50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L) and current intensity (1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.2 and 0.05 A) with the mixing rate of 100 RPM at ambient temperature was investigated. The reaction kinetics was also studied. The antibiotic concentration was read by UV / Vis T80 + spectrophotometer at 320 nm wavelength. Results: The results showed that at optimum conditions (pH 7, 120 minutes, antibiotic concentration 20 mg / L, the hydrogen peroxide concentration 150 mg / L, inlet current intensity of 0.05 A and electrode spacing of 1 cm), The removal efficiency of metronidazole by Electro-Fenton process was 96.37%. Conclusion: According to the results, it was found that Electro-Fenton with iron electrodes can be used as an effective method in the removal of metronidazole from aqueous solutions.