Degradation of Oxytetracycline in Aqueous Solutions: Application of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Advanced Oxidative Processes

Oxytetracycline is one of the antibiotics most frequently used in the Shrimp Industry during the control of bacterial diseases. These emerging pollutants, which appear in low concentrations, are persistent and alternative treatments and are required for their elimination. The degradation of oxytetracycline was evaluated in an aqueous solution by applying homogeneous (UV/H2O2 and photo-Fenton) and heterogeneous (UV/TiO2/H2O2) advanced oxidative processes (AOPs). The studies were carried out using a bench reactor with short-wave ultraviolet lamps (UV-C). We quantified the extent to which the degradation of the drug had been efficient by employing highly efficient liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a PDA detector with a wavelength of 354 nm and a C18 column. The best results were obtained when applying the UV/H2O2 treatment, which attained a degradation of 97% under the initial conditions of a dose of 8 µL of H2O2 and 120 min of radiation. The pseudo-first order kinetic model proposed by Chan and Chu showed that the experimental results had an adequate fit, with values greater than R2 ≥ 0.95. Toxicity tests were applied to verify the effect of AOPs employed, when the drug was present in low concentrations. The test results demonstrated a decrease in the root growth of the species Lactuca sativa and Daucus carota.