Anodic oxidation of oxytetracycline: Influence of the experimental conditions on the degradation rate and mechanism

The anodic oxidation of oxytetracycline was performed with success using as anode a boron-doped diamond electrode. The experiments were conducted in batch mode, using two different electrochemical cells: an up-flow cell, with recirculation, that was used to evaluate the influence of recirculation flow rate; and a stirred cell, used to determine the influence of the applied current density. Besides oxytetracyclin electrodegradation rate and mineralization extent, oxidation by-products were also assessed. Both the flow rate and the applied current density have shown positive influence on the oxytetracycline oxidation rate. On the other hand, the mineralization degree presented the highest values at the lowest flow rate and the lowest current density tested. The main oxidation by-products detected were oxalic, oxamic and maleic acids.