Publication year: 2011Source: Water Research, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 6 April 2011M., Magureanu , D., Piroi , N.B., Mandache , V., David , A., Medvedovici , ...The decomposition of three β-lactam antibiotics (amoxicillin, oxacillin and ampicillin) in aqueous solution was investigated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in coaxial configuration. Solutions of concentration 100 mg/L were made to flow as a film over the surface of the inner electrode of the plasma reactor, so the discharge was generated at the gas-liquid interface. The electrical discharge was operated in pulsed regime, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, in oxygen. Amoxicillin was degraded after 10 min plasma treatment, while the other two antibiotics required about 30 minutes for decomposition. The evolution of the degradation process was continuously followed...