Insights into antibiotic cefaclor mineralization by electro-Fenton and photoelectro-Fenton processes using a Ti/Ti4O7 anode: Performance, mechanism, and toxic chlorate/perchlorate formation

A comparative degradation of antibiotic cefaclor (CEC) between Ti/Ti4O7 and Ti/RuO2 anodes, in terms of degradation kinetics, mineralization efficiency, and formation of toxic chlorate (ClO3-) and perchlorate (ClO4-), was performed with electrochemical-oxidation (EO), electro-Fenton (EF), and photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) processes. Besides, CEC degradation by EF with boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode was also tested. Results showed CEC decays always followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, with increasing apparent rate constants in the sequence of EO < EF < PEF. The mineralization efficiency of the processes with Ti/Ti4O7 anode was higher than that of Ti/RuO2 anode, but slightly lower than that of BDD anode. Under the optimal conditions, 94.8% mineralization was obtained in Ti/Ti4O7-PEF, which was much higher than 64.4% in Ti/RuO2-PEF. The use of Ti/RuO2 gave no generation of ClO3- or ClO4-, while the use of Ti/Ti4O7 yielded a small amount of ClO3 and trace amounts of ClO4-. Conversely, the use of BDD led to the highest generation of ClO3- and ClO4-. The reaction mechanism was studied systematically by detecting the generated H2O2 and (OH)-O-center dot. The initial N of CEC was released as NH4+ and, in smaller proportion, as NO3-. Four short-chain carboxylic acids and nine aromatic intermediates were also detected, a possible reaction sequence for CEC mineralization was finally proposed.

Automated summary

The comparative degradation of antibiotic cefaclor was studied using different anode materials. The Ti/Ti4O7 anode showed the highest degradation rate, while the Ti/RuO2 anode had the lowest mineralization efficiency. The use of boron-doped diamond anode led to the highest generation of toxic chlorate. The reaction mechanism and intermediate products of cefaclor mineralization were also investigated.