Heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of ofloxacin drug by iron alginate support.

A new catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of ofloxacin antibiotic is presented in this work. The removal was achieved using a biodegradable sodium alginate-iron material. Several parameters were studied such as iron content, drying duration of the catalytic support, temperature, solid amount and initial drug concentration. The process showed a strong oxidative ability; at optimum conditions, a nearly complete removal of the drug (around 98%) has been reached after three h of treatment. A relatively low decrease of support activity (around 10%) has been observed after three successive oxidation runs and a low iron leaching has been detected (1.2% of the incorporated quantity). The removal of the substrate has been also examined in the absence of hydrogen peroxide in order to discriminate between the contributions of simple adsorption and oxidation processes in the drug disappearance. We also discussed the influence of the studied experimental parameters on the removal kinetic.