Kinetics and mechanism of carbamazepine degradation by a modified Fenton-like reaction with ferric-nitrilotriacetate complexes

► NTA-modified Fenton-like reaction leads to rapid degradation of CBZ at pH 7.0. ► Kinetics of CBZ degradation and influence of operating conditions were studied. ► FeIII(NTA)(OH)22− is the most likely active iron species for OH production. ► Potential mechanism of OH formation and degradation pathways of CBZ are proposed. ► NTA is biodegradable; this system has good potential for environmental application.