Batch and Fed-Batch Degradation of Enrofloxacin by the Fenton Process

Enrofloxacin is a synthetic second-generation fluoroquinolone used as an antimicrobial agent exclusively in veterinary medicine. To simulate the treatment of wastewater contaminated by enrofloxacin, four-day long fed-batch runs were carried out according to the Fenton process with an enrofloxacin solution as model, to which hydrogen peroxide and ferrous ion were added twice a day. The residual enrofloxacin concentration was practically coincident to that detected at the end of the batch tests. Hydrogen peroxide was almost completely consumed after each feeding period, while the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration decreased gradually within three days, corresponding to a reduction >58%. From the third day on, the TOC falling rate was quite low. A yellow sludge settled due to the precipitation of both Fe(OH)3 and a complex formed by ferric ion with adsorbed enrofloxacin and/or its oxidation products.