Kinetic degradation of amoxicillin by using the electro-Fenton process in the presence of a graphite rods from used batteries

This study reports the removal of amoxicillin (AMX) in aqueous media using the electro-Fenton process in the presence of a graphite cathode recovered from used batteries. The impact of the relevant param-eters on the electro-Fenton process, namely the applied current intensity, the temperature, the initial concentration of AMX and the initial concentration of ferrous ions were investigated. The results showed that the optimal values were:I=600 mA, T=25 ℃, AMX]0=0.082 mmol·L-1 and Fe2+]=1 mmol·L-1, leading to 95％degradation and 74％mineralization. The model parameters of AMX mineralization were determined using nonlinear methods, showing that it follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic. The Energy consumption (EC) calculated under the optimal values was found to be 0.79 kW·h·g-1, which was of the same order of magnitude of those reported in other findings;while it is noteworthy that the electrodes used in our study are of a lower cost.