Elimination of pharmaceutical pollutants by solar photoelectro-Fenton process in a pilot plant.

In this study, the simultaneous degradation of antibiotics (ampicillin, sulfamethazine, and tetracycline; and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (diclofenac and salicylic acid)) including the total organic carbon abatement by solar photoelectro-Fenton process was assessed. Eight liters of solution containing the mixture of the five pharmaceuticals in 1 mmol L Fe, 0.05 mol L NaSO at pH 3 and 35 °C were electrolyzed applying different current densities (j = 10, 25, and 50 mA cm) in a solar-electrochemical pilot plant.