engleski

NF/RO removal of enrofloxacin and its photodegrdation products from water

Fluoroquinolones are a group of synthetic chemotherapeutic agents which are highly active against a broad range of bacteria, and hence the use of fluoroquinolones is not restricted to human medicine but is also widely applied in the treatment and prevention of veterinary diseases in food-producing animals, and even as growth- promoting agents. Enrofloxacin (ENRO), a member of the family of fluoroquinolones, has been widely used in veterinary clinical practice because of its broad antibiotic spectrum and excellent bactericidal activity. It also shows striking potency against both Gram-positive and Gram- negative bacteria. Due to the widespread use of ENRO relative large quantities are released into the environment. Once released into the environment pharmaceuticals, which include ENRO, undergo a series of processes leading to their degradation. Photolysis induced by sunlight is the most important cause and way of their degradation in natural aquatic environment. The photodegradation products which are result of photolysis are also undesirable components in water because they can even be more toxic than the parent compound. This study investigated removal of ENRO and its photodegradation products from Milli-Q water with six different types of RO/NF membranes (LFC– 1, SWC1, NF90, NF, DK and HL) at 10 bar and under cross-flow conditions (750 mL min-1). Suntest CPS + photoreactor (Atlas, Germany) equipped with Xenon lamp and temperature sensor was used as the source for artificial sunlight. Aqueous solutions of ENRO were prepared at different pH values (4 and 9) and irradiated. The RO membranes showed almost complete removal of parent compound and photodegradation products due to their high molecular mass (>100 Da). Also nanofiltration membranes showed very good removal of all compounds and rejection values depends on their molecular mass.

Enrofloxacin; Photodegradation products; Reverse osmosis; Nanofiltration

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