Impact of operating conditions on decomposition of antibiotics during ozonation: A review

Recent studies have identified antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals in wastewater and surface water in many countries. The presence of low level antibiotics in the environment has raised concerns regarding potential selection of resistant bacterial strains that would render ineffective the use of some antibiotics in clinical practice. Recent reviews indicate the potential of ozonation and advanced oxidation processes in degrading pharmaceuticals in various types of water. However, no focus has been put on the impact of the operating conditions on the ozonation of these pharmaceuticals. This paper reviews the recent progress of ozonation of aqueous antibiotics in order to identify the influence of the operating conditions such as pH, temperature, use of hydrogen peroxide, ozone dosage, reactor setup and wastewater characteristics on the degradation of antibiotics.