Catalytic ozonation process using modified activated carbon as a cataly s t for the removal of sarafloxacin antibiotic from aqueous solutions

Sarafloxacin (SAR) is an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone group and is also one of the most widely used antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Potential performance and appropriate effectiveness have made SAR a special place among antibiotics. Antibiotic residues in the environment cause many problems, the most important of which is antibiotic resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to remove antibiotic residues from the environment. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized as a mathematics and statistics approach to optimize the removal efficiency of SAR using the catalytic ozonation process. The obtained regression equation for the response was the quadratic mathematical model. The coefficient of determination (R2), adjusted R2, and predicted R2 were obtained at 0.9939, 0.9917, and 0.9855, respectively. The maximum removal efficiency of 99.3% was obtained under optimum conditions, including a SAR concentration of 30.0 mg L-1, ozone dose of 1.5 mg min-1, catalyst dose (modified activated carbon) of 600 mg L-1, pH of 5.0, and reaction time of 30 min. According to the obtained results, the catalytic ozonation process as a suitable technique can efficiently remove SAR and other pharmaceutical compounds.