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6CCVD Research

Improving the biodegradability of hospital urines polluted with chloramphenicol by the application of electrochemical oxidation

At a Glance

Section titled ā€œAt a Glanceā€
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2020-04-04
JournalThe Science of The Total Environment
AuthorsMiguel A. HerrƔiz, Salvador Cotillas, Engracia Lacasa, Ɓngela Moratalla, Pablo CaƱizares
InstitutionsUniversity of Castilla-La Mancha
Citations65

Abstract

Section titled ā€œAbstractā€

This work focuses on improving the biodegradability of hospital urines polluted with antibiotics by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs). To do this, chloramphenicol (CAP) has been used as a model compound and the influence of anodic material (Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) and Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO)) and current density (1.25-5 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>) on the toxicity and the biodegradability was evaluated. Results show that a complete CAP removal was attained using BDD anodes, being the process more efficient at the lowest current density tested (1.25 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>). Conversely, after passing 4 Ah dm<sup>-3</sup>, only 35% of CAP removal is reached using MMO anodes, regardless of the current density applied. Furthermore, a kinetic study demonstrated that there is a clear competitive oxidation between the target antibiotic and the organic compounds naturally contained in urine, regardless the current density and the anode material used. During the first stages of the electrolysis, acute toxicity is around 1% EC<sub>50</sub> but it increases once CAP and its organic intermediates have been degraded. The formation and accumulation of inorganic oxidants may justify the remaining acute toxicity. This also helps to explain the trend observed in the rapid biodegradability assays. Finally, a 60% of standard biodegradability (Zahn-Wellens test) was achieved which suggests that electrochemical oxidation with BDD anodes could be the most appropriate technology to reduce the hazard of hospital urines at the operating conditions tested.

Tech Support

Section titled ā€œTech Supportā€

Original Source

Section titled ā€œOriginal Sourceā€

References

Section titled ā€œReferencesā€
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  2. 2006 - Boron doped diamond electrode for the wastewater treatment [Crossref]
  3. 2019 - Environmental fate of pharmaceutical compounds and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in hospital effluents, and contributions to pollutant loads in the surface waters in Japan [Crossref]
  4. 2009 - Fenton-biological treatment processes for the removal of some pharmaceuticals from industrial wastewater [Crossref]
  5. 2004 - Chloramphenicol: a review [Crossref]
  6. 2002 - Electrochemical oxidation of aqueous phenol wastes on synthetic diamond thin-film electrodes [Crossref]
  7. 2007 - Effect of the operating conditions on the oxidation mechanisms in conductive-diamond electrolyses [Crossref]
  8. 2009 - Synthesis of novel oxidants by electrochemical technology [Crossref]
  9. 2015 - Electrochemical degradation of chloramphenicol with a novel Al doped PbO2 electrode: performance, kinetics and degradation mechanism [Crossref]
  10. 2017 - Is it really important the addition of salts for the electrolysis of soil washing effluents? [Crossref]

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