Assessing the Performance of Different Treatment Methods in Removing Tetracycline from Wastewater: Efficiency and Cost Evaluation

To tackle the pollution of tetracycline (TC) in aqueous environments, a few treatment methods, including ozonation, adsorption, and photocatalytic degradation, were compared using a novel and sustainable granular activated carbon-based zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO@GAC) composite. The results demonstrate that the ZnO@GAC composite towards TC exhibited a high removal efficiency of 82.1% in a batch adsorption system. Moreover, the photocatalytic TC degradation study on ZnO@GAC under UV light yields a maximum degradation efficiency of 86.4% with a pseudo-first-order rate constant value of 0.0059 min^-1. Ozonation treatment resulted in TC and total organic carbon (TOC) removal reaching a maximum of 95.3% and 79.7% for 4 mg O₃/min and 99.6% and 86.6% for 16 mg O₃/min after 10 min. Overall, in comparing the adsorption, photocatalysis, and ozonation techniques, in terms of removal efficiency and time, ozonation was found to be more promising for treating TC, while in terms of cost-effectiveness, the adsorption process is preferable. Finally, the application of the developed composite in municipal and hospital wastewater using adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, and ozonation techniques revealed that the TOC removal efficiencies were higher for hospital wastewater than municipal wastewater. Furthermore, the applicability of these techniques in treating hospital wastewater containing pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, fungicides, and antimicrobial pollutants shows an outstanding result after treatment. In conclusion, the technologies studied in this research can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of wastewater treatment applications, providing a sustainable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly solution.