Heterogeneous oxidation of sulfacetamide in aquatic environment using ultrasonic and nano-Fenton: kinetics intermediates and bioassay test

In present study, degradation of sulfacetamide from a synthetic wastewater by sonofenton process using zero valent iron nanoparticles was investigated. The synthesized iron nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible and X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD). The effect of various parameters, such as pH, nZVI dose, H2O2 concentration and contact time was studied with batch experiments. The removal efficiency of sulfacetamide by US/nZVI/H2Of process was about 91% for reaction time of 60 min, but less than 27% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed. Kinetics studies showed that the degradation of sulfacetamide fitted well to the pseudo-second-order model. Using the LC/MS device, five intermediate from degradation of sulfacetamide were detected. The toxicity test, using micro toxicity study also showed that the effluent from the sono-Fenton reactor has a lower toxicity than sulfacetamide antibacterial.