Comparative assessment of application of ionizing radiations in degradation of amoxicillin trihydrate (AMT) in aqueous solutions

The radiation based treatment of amoxicillin trihydrate (AMT) in aqueous solutions was investigated in the present study based on the use of high energy electron beam (EB) and gamma rays (gamma) under different parametric conditions viz. initial concentrations, dose, pH of solution, addition of organic and inorganic additives, H2O2, and various water mediums. Presence of H2O2 exhibits significant effect on the mineralization efficiency of AMT rather than degradation extent. The efficacy of gamma- and EB-irradiation to degrade AMT decreased in wastewater in comparison to surface, ground and ultrapure water. Under both radiation-based treatments, the degradation of AMT followed pseudo-first order rate kinetics and HO center dot was the most active reactive species employed in the degradation of AMT. Remarkably, the k-value of AMT degradation under EB-irradiation was found to be low in comparison to the k-value under gamma-irradiation treatment of AMT. Toxicity assessment revealed that the both gamma and EB-irradiation treated AMT solutions did not acquire any toxicity against all the studied microorganisms when compared to un-treated solution of AMT. Total cost (operational and installation) for the degradation of AMT under gamma- and EB-irradiation was also evaluated. In comparison to gamma-irradiation, the use of EB plants could play an imperious role in near future at pilot and commercial scale for very large volume of real industrial wastewater treatment.

Automated summary

The study investigated the radiation-based treatment of amoxicillin trihydrate in aqueous solutions using high energy electron beams and gamma rays, showing that the presence of H2O2 significantly affects the mineralization efficiency of AMT. Both radiation-based treatments followed pseudo-first order kinetics for AMT degradation, with HO· being the most active reactive species. The treated AMT solutions showed no toxicity against microorganisms, and electron beam irradiation was found to be more suitable for industrial wastewater treatment compared to gamma irradiation.