Investigation of electrocoagulation and adsorption coupling process for efficient removal of cefazolin from hospital wastewater: promising removal strategy

Cefazolin (CFZ) represent as one of the most important antibiotics based on their annual global sales and therapeutic versatility. Like most antibiotics, large percentages of CFZ are excreted in unmetabolized form from the human and animal bodies [1]. CFZ commonly enters the environment through discharge of untreated wastewater. CFZ in aquatic solution has caused serious environmental problems because of its potent biological activity [2]. Water containing this class of chemicals needs to be treated using an efficient process in order to protect human and the environment against their adverse effects. In the current work, electrocoagulation and adsorption (EC/AD) coupling process has been applied for efficient removal of cefazolin from hospital wastewater. The influence of operating parameters such as initial concentration of CFZ (20-150 mg L-1), pH (4-10), current intensity (5-20 mA.cm-2), chitosan dosage (0-1 g.L-1) and reaction time (5-30 min) were investigated using response surface methodology. Regression analysis revealed a satisfactory agreement between the obtained experimental results and the predicted removal efficiency by the second order polynomial model (R2 value of 0. 9263 and F-value of 49.02). The maximum removal rate was achieved at the current density of 15.5 mA.cm-2, initial CIP concentration of 60.0 mg.L-1, chitosan dosage of 0.70 g.L-1, pH 7.5 within the reaction time of 23 min. According to the obtained results, electrocoagulation and adsorption coupling process was found to be an efficient technique for successful removal of CFZ and other resistant organic compounds from water sources.