Enhanced hydrolysis of spiramycin in aqueous solution using SiO₂/SO₃H

Abstract Sulfonated silicon dioxide (SiO 2 /SO 3 H) solid acids were synthesized and they were characterized and used for spiramycin hydrolysis pretreatment of antibiotic wastewater. Results show that the spiramycin removal effect rankings are as follows: SiO 2 /SO 3 H > SiO 2 (pH = 3 or so) > control group. A first-order model was used to reflect the hydrolytic kinetics. The hydrolysis rate of the SiO 2 /SO 3 H solid acid calcined at 600°C is the highest, up to 3.59×10 −2 ( k ). The performance of SiO 2 /SO 3 H is in positive correlation with the total acidity, which was determined by using the n -butylamine titration method. This hydrolytic method eliminates the need for the on-site handling of hazardous and corrosive mineral acids. As an attractive selective catalytic pretreatment method, it is targeted at removing related functional groups from antibiotics to reduce the inhibitory effect and allow antibiotic wastewater to further be easily biologically treated.