Pre-treatment of antibiotic formulation wastewater by $O_3$, $O_3/H_2O_2$, and $O_3$/UV processes

Abstract

The treatment of synthetically prepared antibiotic formulation wastewater with O3, O3/H2O2, and O3/UV processes was examined. The efficiencies of the treatment processes were compared by means of COD, absorbance removals, and biodegradability enhancement. The efficiencies of O3/pH = 7, O3/ pH = 12, and O3/H2O2(50 mM) processes were almost identical in terms of COD and UV254 removals. The BOD5/COD ratio of formulation wastewater increased from 0.02 to 0.38 and 0.5 at the end of 1 hr of ozone treatment at pH = 7 and pH = 12, respectively. For the formulation wastewater subjected to O3/UV process at pH = 7, parallel to the UV254 removal efficiency, a 20% increase was obtained in the Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR) value compared to that of mere ozonation.