Treatment of florfenicol of synthetic trout fish farm wastewater through nanofiltration and photocatalyst oxidation.

The aquaculture system is a potential significant source of antibacterial agents. The removal of florfenicol (Flo) antibiotic from synthetic aqueous wastewater is performed by applying a commercial thin film composite polyamide nanofilter (NF). For concentrated wastewater treatment, the advanced oxidation process (AOP) is applied. The effects of pH, pressure and Flo concentration on removal efficiency of NF and the effects of pH, Flo concentration and dosage of hydrogen peroxide and contact time on the AOP are assessed. In the nanofiltration system, it is found that an increase in pH enhances the removal efficiency up to 99%. In this membrane, an increase of pressure between 4 and 7 bar would increase the removal percentage, followed by a decrease from 7 to 10 bar. In AOP, it is observed that the degradation efficiency of Flo increases by both an increase in its initial concentration up to values above 50 ppm and contact time. The degradation efficiency of Flo is at its highest in the pH range of 7-10. With increasing H2O2 dosage, from 0 to 500 ppm, the removal efficiency increases. The results of this study indicate that a combination of a polyamide nanofilteration together with an AOP introduces an effective manner of removing Flo antibiotic from synthetic trout fish farm wastewater.