Abstract
Oxidation of erythromycin, sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole by ozone was experimentally investigated to see the effects of background water quality such as ultrapure water, humic acid and biologically treated wastewater and water temperature on the removal rate, consequently to provide design information when the ozone treatment process is adopted. Initial concentration of the antibiotics was spiked to $10{\mu}g/l$ and ozone dose was 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 mg/l. While the removal rate of erythromycin under ultrapure water background by ozone oxidation was over 99%, that under humic acid and biologically treated wastewater background was markedly reduced to the range of 59.8%~99% and 17.0%~99%, respectively. When water temperature is decreased from $20^{\circ}C$ to $4^{\circ}C$, the removal rate is reduced from the range of 17.0%~99% to the range of 9.4%~97.4% under biologically treated wastewater background. The effects of background and temperature on the removal rate of sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole were similar to erythromycin, but the degree was different. Therefore, it is concluded that the background of water to be treated as well as water temperature should be taken into consideration when the design factor such as ozone dose is determined to meet the treatment objective in the ozone treatment process.