Photodegradation of sulfonamide antimicrobial compounds (sulfadiazine, sulfamethizole, sulfamethoxazole and sulfathiazole) in various UV/oxidant systems

Abstract

This study used Na2S2O8, NaBrO8 and H2O2 to degrade sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamethizole (SFZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfathiazole (STZ) under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The initial concentration of sulfonamide and oxidant in all experiments was 20 mg/L and 5 mM, respectively. The degradation rate for sulfonamides satisfies pseudo-first-order kinetics in all UV/oxidant systems. The highest degradation rate for SDZ, SFZ, SMX and STZ was in the UV/Na2S2O8, UV/NaBrO3, UV/Na2S2O8 and UV/H2O2 system, respectively. In the UV/Na2S2O8 system, the photodegradation rate of SDZ, SFZ, SMX and STZ was 0.0245 min−1, 0.0096 min−1, 0.0283 min−1 and 0.0141 min−1, respectively; moreover, for the total organic carbon removal rate for SDZ, SFZ, SMX and STZ it was 0.0057 min−1, 0.0081 min−1, 0.0130 min−1 and 0.0106 min−1, respectively. Experimental results indicate that the ability of oxidants to degrade sulfonamide varied with pollutant type. Moreover, UV/Na2S2O8 had the highest mineralization rate for all tested sulfonamides.