Mineralization of the antibiotic levofloxacin in aqueous medium by electro-Fenton process: kinetics and intermediate products analysis.

The present study investigates the feasibility of using electro-Fenton (EF) process for the oxidative degradation of antibiotic levofloxacin (LEV). The EF experiments have been performed in an electrochemical cell using a carbon-felt cathode. The effect of applied current in the range 60-500 mA and catalyst concentration in the range 0.05-0.5 mM on the kinetics of oxidative degradation and mineralization efficiency have been investigated. Degradation of LEV by hydroxyl radicals was found to follow pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. The absolute rate constant for oxidative degradation of LEV by hydroxyl radical has been determined by a competition kinetics method and found to be (2.48 ± 0.18) × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). An optimum current value of 400 mA and a catalyst (Fe(2+)) concentration of 0.1 mM were observed to be optimal for an effective degradation of LEV under our operating conditions. Mineralization of aqueous solution of LEV was performed by the chemical oxygen demand analysis and an almost mineralization degree (>91%) was reached at the end of 6 h of electrolysis. A number of intermediate products have been identified using high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chrmatography-mass spectrometry analyses. Based on these identified reaction intermediates, a plausible reaction pathway has been suggested for the mineralization process. The formation and evolution of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] ions released to the medium during the process were also discussed.