Degradação de Antibiótico usando Processo Eletroquímico

In recent years the public and scientific concern about traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment has growed continuously and the central aspect is the potential risk to aquatic organisms and soil associated with the presence of low concentrations of these compounds1. The presence of these compounds in the environmental it is a ecotoxicological problem; prolonged exposure of bacteria to several antibiotics even at low concentrations found in the environment can lead to selection of resistant microorganisms and eventually to transfer its resistance genes to other bacteria2. The fluoroquinolones is a class of useful antimicrobial agents and are likely to be among one of the most important class of synthetic antibiotics in human medicine and veterinary industry. The lack of biodegradation and high adsorption affinity results in long residence times in the environment. The electrochemical treatment can be used to degrade molecules that are resistant to biodegradation. This technology offers a promising option for the prevention and mitigation of industrial pollution problems and can be combined or even replace conventional treatments of effluents and industrial waste. Therefore, was prepared different compositions of oxides electrodes in order to use in the electrochemical oxidation process of levofloxacin antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone class. The results obtained allowed to conclude that these materials are an efficient alternative for the treatment of effluents contaminated with antibiotics. The electrode containing RuO2 and SnO2 was the most efficient for the levofloxacin oxidation, reaching a removal efficiency of 92% when a current of 50mA cm-2 was applied, as shown in figure 1.