Ionizing radiation effect on the removing of antibiotic pollutants from pharmaceutical wastewater: identification of radio-degradation products

Electron beam radiation is applied in wastewater treatment to destroy pollutants, including antibiotics. Standard solutions of oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, and sulfamethoxazole (10–100 ppm) were irradiated at 10–50 kGy. Increasing irradiation dose and concentration increased and decreased degradation efficiency, respectively. Most antibiotic standard samples, irradiated at 25 kGy, showed destruction efficiency more than 90%. Erythromycin and enrofloxacin as target antibiotics, were identified in real pharmaceutical wastewater, with degradation efficiency of 100% and 90%, respectively, at 25 kGy. Byproducts found by LC/MS in irradiated samples had acceptable toxicity. Therefore, electron beam irradiation is an efficient way to eliminate antibiotics from pharmaceutical wastewater.