Degradation of levofloxacin by dielectric barrier discharge plasma/chlorine process: Roles of reactive species and control of chlorination disinfection byproducts

Jing Lou; Hao Han; Jiutao An; Xiangyou Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123727

Degradation of levofloxacin by dielectric barrier discharge plasma/chlorine process: Roles of reactive species and control of chlorination disinfection byproducts

J Environ Manage. 2024 Dec 16:373:123727. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123727. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jing Lou¹, Hao Han², Jiutao An³, Xiangyou Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255000, China.
² College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255000, China.
³ College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255000, China. Electronic address: anjiutao@163.com.
⁴ School of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255000, China. Electronic address: wxy@sdut.edu.cn.

PMID: 39689538
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123727

Abstract

In this study, a novel process of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)/chlorine for levofloxacin (LEV) degradation was investigated. The combined system boosted the degradation efficiency of LEV from 77.8% to 97.5%, improved the reaction rate constant by 2.3 times, and reduced energy consumption by 64.5%. DBD/chlorine process was highly efficient for LEV degradation across a pH range of 3.3-10.8, with removal rates varying from 90.3% to 97.5%. The electron paramagnetic resonance and scavenging experiments demonstrated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS, including HO•, ¹O₂, and O₂^•-) and reactive chlorine species (RCS) in the DBD/chlorine system, with ¹O₂ in the nonradical pathway being crucial for LEV removal. Crucially, effective activation of chlorine not only encouraged the production of reactive species but also prevented the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), successfully controlling the ecotoxicity of the reaction system. DBD could activate chlorine to form chlorate and HO•, which in turn triggered the production of RCS. The comparison of the LEV degradation pathway was proposed with or without chlorine in the DBD process. Finally, the effects of different water quality and water bodies demonstrated the application prospects of the DBD/chlorine process. This work provided an efficient technique for the elimination of antibiotics by non-thermal plasma/chlorine.

Keywords: Antibiotic degradation; Chlorine activation; DBD plasma; RCS; ROS.