Photochemical degradation of chloramphenicol over jarosite/oxalate system: Performance and mechanism investigation

Rational selection of affordable catalyst and effective degradation process are significant for antibiotic-containing wastewater treatment. Herein, a photochemical catalytic system comprising of bio-synthesized jarosite and oxalic acid (Ox) was investigated for degradation of antibiotic chloramphenicol (CAP) under light irradiation. Benefiting from abundant reactive species including H 2 O 2 , OH, O 2 − produced in photochemical process, a 97.5 % removal efficiency of CAP was obtained within 40 min. Consecutive testing cycles indicated jarosite had excellent stability and reusability in photocatalytic system. Radical chain reaction induced by photosensitive Fe(III)-Ox complexes under light irradiation was suggested to be the main mechanism for CAP degradation. A few degradation intermediates were identified to propose the possible degradation pathways of CAP. Further investigation showed that the antibacterial activities of CAP solution towards Escherichia. coli ATCC 8739 and Staphylococcus. aureus ATCC 6538 were largely reduced after treatment by photochemical process. Typical operation parameters of light/jarosite/Ox system were also investigated. CAP degradation performance in actual water demonstrated the feasibility of light/jarosite/Ox process. Overall, the developed light/jarosite/Ox system possesses great potential for antibiotic-containing wastewater treatment.