Assessment of Effective Operational Parameters on Removal of Amoxicillin from Synthetic Wastewater Using Electrocoagulation Process

Abstract

In this study, efficiency of electrocoagulation (EC) process with aluminum electrodes for treatment of Amoxicillin (AMO) from synthetic solution has been studied and concluded. This experiment was conducted in a batch system with a volume of 1 L that had been equipped with four aluminum electrodes. The effect of operating parameters, such as voltage, time of reaction, initial AMO concentration, KCl concentration and pH on the AMO removal efficiency was investigated. In optimum condition (pH 7, voltage 60 V, electrolysis time 75 min, KCl concentration 3 g/L), electrocoagulation method was able to remove 98.8% of AMO antibiotics from synthetic solution.  In addition, it is found that an increase in the applied voltage the speed of the treatment significantly. However, simultaneous increase of electrode and energy consumption was observed. The method was found to be highly efficient and relatively fast compared to conventional existing techniques and also, it can be concluded that the electrocoagulation process has the potential to be utilized for the cost-effective removal of AMO from water and wastewater.