Adsorption of the Antibiotic Roxithromycin on Low-Cost Food Waste Materials: Batch and Column Studies

Abstract

Antibiotics are widely utilized for a variety of medical conditions. Antibiotic residues in wastewater are dangerous to all living beings. Antibiotics remain in the wastewater environment when general treatment plant technologies are employed. The literature has numerous techniques for getting rid of antibiotics. Compared to other techniques for removing contaminants in the solution environment, the adsorption method is preferred due to its benefits, such as ease of use, high efficiency, and low cost. The study investigated using the green walnut shell (GWS), a natural sorbent, as an adsorbent to discharge roxithromycin (ROX) antibiotics from the solution medium. Adsorption conditions were studied in batch and continuous systems. pH, adsorbent amount, interaction time, sorbate concentration, and salt effect parameters were investigated in the batch system. The data obtained were calculated with kinetic and isotherm models. The adsorption process has been based on the so-called pseudo-second-order kinetic model. GWS was characterized using SEM and FTIR techniques. The amount of absorbent, flow rate, and breakdown in the continuous system were explored. In the batch system, the adsorption equilibrium was set up at the solution's original pH with 0.1 g of adsorbent in 40 minutes, and 78% ROX removal was achieved. The optimum flow rate and adsorbent amount in the continuous system were determined as 0.1 mL/min and 0.3 g, respectively.