Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of quinolone antibiotics from wastewater using functionalized biochar

Quinolone antibiotics are emerging environmental contaminants, which cause serious harm to the ecological environment and human health. How to effectively remove these emerging pollutants from water remains a major challenge worldwide. In this study, a novel Fe/Ti biochar composite (Fe/Ti-MBC) was prepared by facile one-step co-pyrolysis of wood chips with hematite and titanium dioxide (TiO2) for adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and norfloxacin (NOR) in water. The results showed that the degradation efficiencies of Fe/Ti-MBC to CIP and NOR were 88.4% and 88.0%, respectively. The π-π interactions and polar interactions are the main adsorption mechanisms for CIP and NOR. In the photocatalytic process, h+ and ·OH are the main active substances for the oxidative degradation of CIP and NOR. This study shows that Fe/Ti-MBC is an effective and recyclable composite, providing a novel alternative way for antibiotics degradation.