ABSTRACT
The removal of metronidazole, a biorecalcitrant antibiotic, by coupling an electrochemical reduction with a biological treatment was examined. Electroreduction was performed in a home-made flow cell at -1.2V/SCE on graphite felt. After only one pass through the cell, analysis of the electrolyzed solution showed a total degradation of metronidazole. The biodegradability estimated from the BOD5/COD ratio increased from 0.07 to 0.2, namely below the value usually considered as the limit of biodegradability (0.4). In order to improve these results, indirect electrolysis of metronidazole was performed with a titanium complex known to reduce selectively nitro compounds into amine. The catalytic activity of the titanium complex towards electroreduction of metronidazole was shown by cyclic voltammetry analyses. Indirect electrolysis led to an improvement of the biodegradability from 0.07 to 0.42. To confirm the interest of indirect electroreduction to improve the electrochemical pretreatment, biological treatment was then carried out on activated sludge after direct and indirect electrolyses; different parameters were followed during the culture such as pH, TOC and metronidazole concentration. Both electrochemical processes led to a more efficient biodegradation of metronidazole compared with the single biological treatment, leading to an overall mineralization yield for the coupling process of 85%.
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry , Metronidazole/chemistry , Waste Disposal, Fluid/methods , Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry , Anti-Infective Agents/metabolism , Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis , Catalysis , Electrochemistry , Metronidazole/metabolism , Organometallic Compounds/chemistry , Oxidation-Reduction , Sewage/microbiology , Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolismABSTRACT
The procedure of electrocoagulation is an effective, fast and economic technique for treatment of black liquor resulting from paper industry. The effect of electrolysis time, current density, type of electrode material and initial pH were studied in an attempt to achieve a higher removal capacity. Under the optimal experimental conditions (initial pH 7, t=50 min and J=14 mA cm(-2)), the treatment of black liquor by electrocoagulation has led to a removal capacity of 98% of COD, 92% of polyphenols and 99% of color intensity with a good repeatability (R.S.D.<3%) making it possible to highlight the industrial interest of this electrochemical process.
