Degradation of Ofloxacin Using Hydrodynamic Cavitation Coupled With Advanced Oxidants

ABSTRACT Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) was applied both alone and in combination with various oxidants namely, hydrogen peroxide, Fenton reagent, Advanced Fenton reagent, and sodium hypochlorite for the degradation of ofloxacin, a persistent antibiotic, which has serious environmental concerns. The study examined the effect of operational factors like solution pH and inlet pressure on HC efficiency, demonstrating that optimum conditions of pH 3 and 4 bar as inlet pressure resulted in achieving 74.93% as optimal ofloxacin degradation using only HC without any additives. Combining HC with oxidants showed synergistic effects, resulting in 92.7% degradation with hydrogen peroxide, 89.7% with sodium hypochlorite, 94.26% with Fenton, and 95.18% with advanced Fenton process under optimized conditions. Acoustic cavitation (AC) alone achieved 21.85% degradation, while coupling it with sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, Fenton, and Advanced Fenton led to 40.22%, 46.96%, 52.49%, and 56.37% degradation respectively, at dual frequency operation and power of 240 W. Maximum kinetic rate constant as was seen for coupled with superior cavitational yield and treatment costs. Two bacterial strains subjected to toxicity assessments using both treated and untreated wastewater confirmed no formation of any toxic intermediates. Combining HC and oxidants have been shown as a promising approach for efficiently treating ofloxacin‐contaminated wastewater, providing potential solutions to the increasing issue of antibiotic pollution in water.