Work

Integration of membrane distillation with heat-activated peroxymonosulfate for ciprofloxacin removal and municipal wastewater treatment

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Effective removal of antibiotics from wastewater is critical to mitigating environmental and public health risks. This study presents an integrated process that couples heat-activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation with membrane distillation (MD) for simultaneous ciprofloxacin (CP) degradation and high-quality water recovery. The thermal energy of MD was utilized to activate PMS in situ, enhancing CP degradation and reducing membrane fouling. System performance was evaluated across a range of PMS concentrations and feed temperatures using both synthetic and real wastewater. Under optimal conditions (5 mmol L −1 PMS, 70 °C), the system achieved 99 % CP removal from synthetic wastewater (25 mg L −1 CP). In real wastewater treatment, the system delivered 70 % water recovery with a stable flux of 36.7 L m −2 h −1 , while simultaneously achieving 65.6 % TOC removal and effectively mitigating MD membrane fouling. Compared to standalone MD, the PMS/MD process demonstrated superior pollutant degradation, operational stability, and fouling resistance. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of PMS/MD integration as a potential energy-efficient approach for treating antibiotic-laden municipal wastewater.

Source: Journal of Water Process Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108091