During the COVID-19 pandemic, the extensive use of ribavirin (RBV) raised concerns about its environmental residues and associated risks, necessitating remedial actions. This study investigates the degradation efficiency, mechanism, and biotoxicity of RBV using ferrous (Fe) activated persulfate (PS) advanced oxidation technology (Fe/PS oxidation). Experiments conducted under various conditions revealed that at pH = 3, PS concentration of 4 mM, PS/Fe molar ratio of 2:1, and citric acid of 0.5 mM with Fe added twice, the degradation rate of RBV reached 98.70 %. The degradation process of RBV by Fe/PS from 0 to 5 mins followed a first-order reaction kinetics model. The presence of halide ions (Cl, Br, I) was found to inhibit the degradation efficiency. The active species involved were identified as SO·, ·OH, O, and FeO, with SO· and ·OH being the most significant. Moreover, the products of ribavirin were determined and their degradation pathways were proposed. Dehydration, deamidation, C-N bond breaking and hydroxylation were the major pathways. Additionally, toxicity assessment showed that Fe/PS oxidation reduced the inhibition rate of bioluminescence in from 31.58 % to 3.88 %, effectively controlling RBV toxicity during the reaction. This study provides insights into managing water environmental risks associated with pharmaceutical residues in the post-pandemic era.

中文翻译：

---

Fe2+/PS氧化技术降解利巴韦林：性能、机制和毒性控制

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，利巴韦林 (RBV) 的广泛使用引起了人们对其环境残留和相关风险的担忧，因此需要采取补救措施。本研究利用亚铁 (Fe) 活化过硫酸盐 (PS) 高级氧化技术（Fe/PS 氧化）研究 RBV 的降解效率、机制和生物毒性。不同条件下的实验表明，在pH=3、PS浓度4 mM、PS/Fe摩尔比2:1、柠檬酸0.5 mM并添加两次Fe时，RBV的降解率达到98.70%。 Fe/PS 对 RBV 的降解过程在 0 至 5 分钟内遵循一级反应动力学模型。卤化物离子（Cl、Br、I）的存在被发现会抑制降解效率。所涉及的活性物质被确定为SO·、·OH、O和FeO，其中SO·和·OH最为重要。此外，还测定了利巴韦林的产物并提出了其降解途径。脱水、脱酰胺、CN键断裂和羟基化是主要途径。此外，毒性评估表明，Fe/PS氧化将生物发光抑制率从31.58%降低至3.88%，有效控制了反应过程中RBV的毒性。这项研究为管理大流行后时代与药物残留相关的水环境风险提供了见解。