COMPARISON BETWEEN FE3O4 AND FE3O3 NANOPARTICLES FOR REMOVAL OF AMOXICILLIN FROM WASTEWATER USING PHOTO-FENTON PROCESS

Water-related problems are likely to increase dramatically due to climatic changes and the increase in population growth. Therefore, the need to application performance, ecofriendly methods are to treat and remove pollutants with chemical composition and complex structure that are difficult to decompose in water, such as antibiotics. In this study, amoxicillin (AMX) was removed from wastewater using nanoparticles (NPs) made of UV/H₂O₂/ Fe₃O₄ and Fe₂O₃. In batch studies, several operating conditions were utilized, including different doses of (25, 50, 75, 100, and 125 mg/l), pH (3, 5, 7, 9), Fe₃O₄Fe3O4   (NPs), and Fe₂O₃ Fe2O3  (g/l), correspondingly. Three Ultra violet (UV) lamps were used and the detention time was kept constant (120 min). The best efficiency obtained under these conditions when using 10 mg/l of AMX, 5 mg/l of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, pH=3, and H₂O₂= 25 mg/l was 99.5%; while, the best efficiency obtained for Fe₂O₃Fe2O3   nanoparticles at AMX =10 mg/l, pH=3, H₂O₂H2O2  = 50 mg/l, and 10 mg/l of Fe₂O₃Fe2O3   was 97.3%. After Comparing the two NPs, it was found that Fe₃O₄Fe3O4   was the best in the removal of AMX concentration (10 mg/l) with 99.5%  efficiency within two hours by using Fe₃O₄ = Fe3O4=  5 mg/l, pH=3, and H₂O₂H2O2  = 25 mg/l. While, Fe₂O₃Fe2O3   nanoparticles were the best in removing AMX concentration (25 mg/l) with 97.7% efficiency by adding 50 mg/l of H₂O₂H2O2   and 10 mg/l of Fe₂O₃Fe2O3   in neutral condition within two hours.