Efficient removal of tetracycline in water by a novel chemical and biological coupled system with non-woven cotton fabric as carrier

Abstract As a novel wastewater treatment strategy, the intimate coupling of photocatalysis and biodegradation (ICPB) has been attracted attention, which is ascribed to its combination of the advantages of photocatalytic reactions and biological treatment. The selection of carriers is important since it affects the stability of the system and the removal efficiency of pollutants. In this study, a novel ICPB system was successfully constructed by loading photocatalytic materials (i.e., TiO2, N-TiO2, and Ag-TiO2) and microbes onto non-woven cotton fabric. The photocatalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This system exhibited good performance in degrading tetracycline (TC) in water. The results showed that Ag-TiO2-ICPB had the maximum removal efficiency of tetracycline (94.7 %) in 5 h, which was 16.5 % higher than the photocatalysis alone. After five cycles, 82.9 % of tetracycline could be still degraded through Ag-TiO2-ICPB. SEM spectrum showed microbes on the material changed little before and after the reactions. This result implied the materials were stable, and then beneficial for degrading of pollutants continuously. The intermediates were detected through ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS) and the plausible degradation pathways were proposed. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis showed OH and O2 − were the main reactive oxygen species for TC degradation. In conclusion, the ICPB system with non-woven cotton fabric as a carrier has certain application prospects for antibiotic-containing wastewater.