Adsorption Kinetics of Oxytetracycline onto Activated Carbon in a Closed-Loop Fixed Bed Reactor

Abstract

Abstract Batch experiments were carried out for the adsorption of oxytetracycline (OTC) onto powdered activated carbon (PAC). The operating variables examined were the initial concentration (20–150 mg L−1) and the adsorbent concentration (0.75–1.75 g L−1). As observed increasing the initial concentration, while decreasing the adsorbent dosage, had a positive impact on the amount of OTC uptake (mg g−1). The kinetics was examined in a closed-loop fixed bed adsorber to propose an adsorption mechanism, to understand the dynamic interactions of OTC with ECA08 activated carbon and to predict its fate with time. The sorption results were analyzed using chemical and physical kinetics models. For concentrations lower than 70 mg L−1, the sorption process was found to be controlled by both surface reactions and mass transfer. The average external mass transfer coefficient and intraparticle diffusion coefficient were found to be 0.0051 min−1 and 1.97 mg g−1 min−0.5, respectively. For concentrations higher than 70 mg L−1, mass transfer became rapid and the chemical reaction at the surface of the solid phase was the rate-limiting step. The results showed that the adsorption reaction was accurately described by the pseudo-second-order model.