Fast removal of the antibiotic flumequine from aqueous solution by ozonation: Influencing factors, reaction pathways, and toxicity evaluation.

As one of the first generation of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, flumequine (FLU) has been detected ubiquitously in surface waters and municipal wastewaters. In light of FLU's possible adverse effects on aquatic species, the removal of this antibiotic has received worldwide attention. In this study, the kinetics, transformation products, mechanisms and toxicity variations of the ozonation process for FLU were systematically determined. The possible effects of solution pH, addition of inorganic ions, dissolved organic matter, and tert-butyl-alcohol (a radical scavenger), as well as the type of water matrices on FLU removal by ozonation, were studied from the perspective of the degradation kinetics. The data obtained suggested that ozone can be used as an effective oxidant for the fast removal of FLU from natural waters. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, a total of thirteen transformation products of FLU during ozonation were identified, and their specific reaction mechanisms were also proposed. The degradation pathways involving the hydroxylation, decarboxylation and defluorination were tentatively proposed. Meanwhile, the generation of three low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids was also observed. In addition, the potential toxicity of the transformation mixtures of FLU by ozone was evaluated. Overall, this paper can be a unique contribution to the systematic elucidation of the ozonation process of this antibiotic in water.