Amoxicillin removal from aqueous matrices by sorption with almond shell ashes

Abstract

The adsorption of the antibiotic amoxicillin at low concentration levels (µg L−1 order) from aqueous solution on almond shell ashes has been investigated, either by kinetic or equilibrium assays. The effect of the adsorbent amount, initial concentration of the antibiotic, particle diameter (dp) and temperature were considered to evaluate the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. The results showed that amoxicillin sorption is dependent on these four factors. The adsorption process was relatively fast and equilibrium was established in about 12 hours. The optimum parameters for an initial concentration of 450 µg L−1 were 50 mg of adsorbent, 303 K and dp < 600 µm. A comparison of kinetic models showed that pseudo-second order kinetics provides the best correlation of the experimental data. Isotherm data adjusted better to Langmuir equation, with an adsorption capacity of 2.5 ± 0.1 mg g−1 at 303 K. The desorption process was also evaluated (maximum efficiency of 5%). Thermodynamic parameters were calculated and the negative value of ΔH0 and ΔG0 showed that adsorption was exothermic and a spontaneous process.