Electrooxidation–Ultrasonication Hybrid Process for Antibiotic Chlortetracycline Treatment

AbstractThis study investigated the electrochemical oxidation of chlortetracycline in aqueous solution using a Ti/PbO2 anode under ultrasound irradiations. The influence of various parameters such as electric current applied, power of ultrasound, and treatment time were evaluated and optimization process was investigated by using factorial design and central composite design methodology. The results indicated that the chlortetracycline degradation rate was greatly influenced by the current and the treatment time. A current intensity of 3.92 A under ultrasound irradiation of 20 W (at 500 kHz) for a period of treatment of 95 min were found to be the best conditions for chlortetracycline oxidation in term of cost-effectiveness. The initial concentration (10  mg/L) could be optimally diminished up to 73.3% while using a Ti/PbO2 anode. Under these conditions, a relatively high mineralization of chlortetracycline (61.4% of total organic carbon removal) was recorded. Then, the optimal conditions were applied on ...