Degradation and Pathway of Tetracycline Hydrochloride in Aqueous Solution by Potassium Ferrate.

In the context of water treatment, the ferrate ([FeO(4)](2-)) ion has long been known for its strong oxidizing power and for producing a coagulant from its reduced form [i.e., Fe(III)]. However, it has not been widely applied in water treatment, because of preparation difficulties and high cost. This article describes a low-cost procedure for producing solid potassium ferrate. In this synthetic procedure, NaClO was used in place of chlorine generation; and 10 M KOH was used in place of saturated KOH in the previous procedures. In addition, this study investigated the reactions of potassium ferrate with tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) at different pH and molar ratios. Results showed that the optimal pH range for TC degradation was pH 9-10, and TC could be mostly removed by Fe(VI) in 60 s. However, results showed >70% of TC degraded and <15% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) reduction at molar ratio of 1:20. The main degradation pathway of TC is proposed based on the experimental data.