Plasma-Assisted Fenton Oxidation of Sulfadoxine in Water: Kinetics, Reactive Species Evolution, Transformation Pathways, and Ecotoxicity Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15377/2409-983X.2026.13.1Keywords:
Non-Thermal Plasma (NTP), Plasma-Fenton hybrid process, Sulfonamide antibiotic degradation, Transformation products (TPs) & ecotoxicity, Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (RONS).Abstract
Non-thermal plasma (NTP) has emerged as a promising, electrified technology for the degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants in wastewater. In this study, ambient air NTP was employed to degrade sulfadoxine (SDX), a sulfonamide antibiotic, using a pin-to-water dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). Plasma treatment alone achieved complete SDX degradation within 45 minutes, with only 33% mineralization after 90 minutes. To enhance performance, a hybrid plasma-assisted Fenton process was developed by introducing Fe2⁺ ions, enabling total SDX removal in just 20 minutes and achieving 33% mineralization in 30 minutes. The hybrid system also reduced nitrate (NO3⁻) accumulation by over 75% compared to plasma alone. Long-lived reactive species including H2O2, NO2⁻, and NO3⁻ were quantified over treatment time. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) identified six transformation products (TPs), four of which are reported for the first time contributing new mechanistic insight into plasma-based sulfonamide degradation pathways. These were primarily formed through desulfonation, aromatic bond cleavage, and hydroxylation pathways. In silico ecotoxicity screening using ECOSAR revealed that several TPs were as toxic or more toxic than the parent compound, particularly under chronic exposure to aquatic organisms. These results underline the effectiveness and relevance of plasma/Fenton processes for the treatment of sulfonamide-contaminated water, while also highlighting the need for ongoing assessment of TPs’ toxicity.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Panagiotis A. Bizirtsakis, Konstantinos Kourtzanidis, Kyriaki Anagnostopoulou, Dimitrios C. Sioutopoulos, Dimitra A. Lambropoulou, Panagiotis Dimitrakellis, Konstantinos V. Plakas
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