Treatment of Antibiotic Formulation Wastewaters by Fenton Process

Abstract

AbstractPharmaceuticals formulation plants have a variety of wastewater sources. A significant part of these wastewaters can be directly conducted to central biological treatment. Among the wastewater groups that need a pretreatment, antibiotic wastewaters require a special attention due to their toxicity to biological treatment and low biodegradability. In this study, pretreatment of antibiotic formulation wastewaters by Fenton oxidation process was experimentally investigated. Three different antibiotic formulations, all having common use, were selected. The basic formulation of the antibiotics used were; cefuroxime axetil, ceftriaxone and sulfisoxazole. Strength of all three samples was similar and around 1000 mg/L COD. Fenton oxidation proved very effective on all samples. Optimum conditions of oxidation were found as; pH 2, Fe