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Cefixime (CFX), an antibiotic from the cephalosporin category, is widely prescribed for treating bacterial infections in humans and animals. Antibiotics and their metabolites in the environment cause various side effects, including acute and chronic toxicity, microbial resistance, and antibiotic resistance genes. Therefore, effective removal of these pollutants from aquatic environments is essential. This study removed the CFX antibiotic from the aqueous medium using hybrid process of electrocoagulation and adsorption. The characterization of the chitosan-bismuth oxy-iodide (CS@BiOI) biocomposite was performed using FESEM, XRD, and BET analysis. BET-specific surface area, Average pore diameter, and total pore volume of CS@BiOI biocomposite were 354.1 m 2 g −1 , 8.3 nm, and 0.092 cm −3 g −1 , respectively. Under the optimal conditions of initial CFX concentration 25.0 mg L −1 , pH 8.0, current density 10.0 mA cm −2 , reaction time 11.6 min, and 0.5 g L −1 CS@BiOI biocomposite as the adsorbent, the maximum removal efficiency, EEC, and MEC were found to be 99.8%, 0.342 kWh m −3 , and 0.038 g L −1 , respectively. According to the results obtained, the combination of coagulation, flocculation, precipitation, adsorption, and flotation processes can effectively increase the removal efficiency and can be used as a suitable method with high efficiency and relatively low cost for treating contaminated water containing antibiotics.
Zahedi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.