Groundwater remediation contaminated with antibiotics and heavy metals using prestressed concrete sleepers and persulfate

Abstract

The widespread occurrence of antibiotics and heavy metals in groundwater has sparked significant scientific interest and public awareness in recent years due to their toxicity and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. However, the different characteristics of heavy metals and antibiotics often require multi-step removal processes that are complex and time-consuming. Therefore, this study proposes a facile and effective method for the removal of antibiotics and heavy metals by investigating the effects of calcined Prestressed Concrete (PC) sleepers and persulfate for their simultaneous removal from groundwater. To evaluate the effectiveness, the following combinations were used in this study: (1) Cu and Zn in combination, (2) sulfamethazine (SMZ) alone, and (3) the combined Cu, Zn, and SMZ system. As a result, the precipitation of heavy metals by calcined PC sleepers was more efficient than that by uncalcined PC sleepers. Additionally, calcined PC sleepers effectively degraded SMZ when combined with persulfate, demonstrating their ability to activate it. Furthermore, the TOC removal efficiency was higher when Cu, Zn, and SMZ were present together than when only SMZ was present, suggesting that Cu and Zn contribute to persulfate activation. Overall, these findings demonstrate that using calcined PC sleepers alongside persulfate is an efficient approach for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with Cu, Zn, and SMZ.