Efficient removal of sulfamerazine (SMR) by ozonation in acetic acid solution after enrichment SMR from water using granular activated carbon

Sulfamerazine (SMR) as a persistent organic pollutant in waste streams is of growing environmental concern. This study explores the extraction SMR from water into an acetic acid (AA) solution using granular activated carbon (GAC), and removal of SMR by ozonation in AA solution. Systematic experiments have shown that GAC can be used as an adsorbent to transfer sulfamerazine from water to AA solution. SMR removal efficiency is 99.5% in 10% AA aqueous solution, which is better than in water. The removal rate of SMR in the AA solution decreased as the initial molar ratio of SMR and O3 increased. The removal rate of SMR decreased with Fe3+ present in the reactive system. The removal of SMR is dominated by indirect ozonation in water, while the SMR removal is an effect of both direct and indirect ozonation in AA solution. It is a very efficient process for the degradation of SMR in micro polluted water when using combined GAC adsorption–desorption in AA solution and ozonation of the resulting solution.