UV Photodegradation of Enoxacin in Water: Kinetics and Degradation Pathways
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 10
Abstract
Fluoroquinolones, such as enoxacin, are poorly removed by common sewage-treatment processes, leading to their discharge into the environment, where they have unknown, and potentially serious, impacts on plants and aquatic organisms. The aim of the research reported in this paper was to understand the degradation of enoxacin by direct UV (ultraviolet) photolysis and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) involving and photo-Fenton [], which may provide an alternative method of removing this compound from water in a treatment plant. Aqueous samples of enoxacin (0.06 mM) were irradiated at 254 nm (). The presence of , as well as the addition of (photo-Fenton process) both resulted in faster degradation kinetics compared to direct irradiation, with all of these systems leading to significant mineralization of enoxacin [ removal of total organic carbon (TOC)] within 30 min. The kinetics for the degradation of enoxacin in the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) isolates were also evaluated. Analysis of reaction byproducts by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) suggested that photolysis of enoxacin results in hydroxylation, defluorination, and formation of a geminal diol. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (; in ) was used for further verification. In addition, the rate constant for the hydroxyl radical () reaction with enoxacin was determined by pulse radiolysis studies to be . These results suggest that may play an important role in the photoinduced removal of enoxacin from water, and these systems may be used to remove this compound in treatment plants.
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Acknowledgments
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Royal Society of New Zealand are thanked for their generous financial support in the form of an East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) scholarship to the first author. The sixth author received partial support from NSF Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET)-1034555, and the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory (U.S. DOE) provided the facilities to carry out the pulse radiolysis studies. Nicky McHugh is also thanked for assisting with TOC measurements at the Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 10 • October 2015
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 15, 2014
Accepted: Jan 21, 2015
Published online: Mar 25, 2015
Discussion open until: Aug 25, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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