Comparative study of the oxidative degradation of different 4-Aminobenzene sulfonamides in aqueous solution by sulfite activation in the presence of Fe(0), Fe(II), Fe(III) or Fe(VI)

Abstract

This study is focused on advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) using the combined effect of Fe(0-VI)/sulfite systems, that produce mainly SO4•- radicals, to remove different 4-aminobenzene sulfonamides (SAs), namely sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, sulfamethizole, from aqueous solutions. Results obtained showed that neither sulfite nor iron alone is able to degrade SAs; however, the combined effect depends on the oxidation state of iron species whose effectiveness to activate sulfite to promote the degradation of SAs increased following this order: Fe(III) < Fe(II) < Fe(0)