Treatment of Antibiotic (Cefixime) Using Synergy of MW, UV, MW-UV & Persulfate and Antimicrobial Analysis

Cefixime is a third-generation antibiotic of cephalosporin and is a major threat to ecology. The present work investigated the degradation of cefixime using the synergy effects of microwave (MW) and photolysis (UV) irradiation and the combined effects of irradiation with sodium persulfate (SPS) and potassium persulfate (PPS). The combined effect of irradiation has shown superior degradation results compared to individual effects of irradiation and considerable enhancement has been shown for the combined effect of MW + SPS, MW + PPS, UV + PPS, and MW + PPS. MW-UV + SPS has shown better degradation results compared to UV + SPS and is much lower than MW + SPS. Maximum degradation was observed for MW + SPS (8.04 min⁻¹) and was much higher than UV + SPS (2.58 min⁻¹). The synergy index for MW-UV was negative, whereas the maximum synergy index was observed for MW + SPS. Anti-microbial analysis based on the growth of many colonies of E. coli. confirmed that the maximum concentration of removal of cefixime was obtained for MW + SPS and MW + PPS. SO₄^•− and OH• radicals contribute to the maximum degradation and mineralization of cefixime. The operational cost of the process was found to be half for MW + SPS (0.31 ¢/ mg of cefixime) compared to UV + SPS.