Activation of persulfate by irradiated laterite for removal of fluoroquinolones in multi-component systems

[Display omitted] •Laterite/PS/UVA is efficient to simultaneously remove three FQs.•Degradation rate constants can be ranked as follows: CIP > NOR > FLU.•Degradation and mineralization extents decrease in binary/ternary systems.•CIP oxidation in wastewater is less affected by FLU and NOR.•An excellent catalytic stability of laterite in mixture systems. Although several emerging contaminants (e.g. fluoro(quinolones) (FQs)) have been simultaneously detected in environmental systems, there is very limited information on their elimination from contaminated waters in multi-component systems. In this study, removal of three FQs including flumequine (FLU), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and norfloxacin (NOR) were investigated in single and mixture systems, using natural laterite soil and persulfate (PS) under UVA irradiation. Both sorption and oxidation reactions contribute to the removal of FQs from aqueous phase, whereas quenching experiments showed that SO4− is mainly responsible for the FQs oxidation. The kinetic rate constants can be ranked as follows: CIP > NOR > FLU, regardless of whether the compound was alone or in mixture. The higher degradation rate constant of CIP relative to those of NOR and FLU could be explained by the high reactivity of SO4− radical with cyclopropane-ring containing compounds. Fall in oxidation performance was observed in synthetic wastewater, probably due to sulfate radical scavenging by wastewater components. However, degradation rate constants of CIP in wastewater remains unchanged in mixture systems as compared to single ones. This environmentally friendly remediation technology may appear as a promising way for the removal of fluoroquinolone antibiotics from multi-contaminated waters.