Abstract
Antibiotics, a type of emerging contaminants in marine environment, have posed serious threats to human health and ecological function. Biochar has been widely used in the remediation of multiple pollutants due to low cost and good adsorption characteristics. However, the adsorption characteristics of biochar for antibiotics in seawater are still unclear. Therefore, a coconut shell activated carbon (AC) and a sludge biochar produced at 700 °C (SB700) were selected to carry out batch adsorption experiments of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) under different adsorbent dosage and different initial concentration of SMX. These results showed that the maximum removal rate (R) of AC and SB700 was 99.9% and 97.9%, the maximum adsorption capacity (Qe) was 13.7 mg g-1and 1.6 mg g-1, and the maximum adsorption coefficient (Kd) was 2142 L g-1and 5.1 L g-1, respectively. Compared with SB700, AC showed the excellent performance in SMX adsorption. This study provided theoretical support and experimental basis for the development of highly efficient antibiotic adsorbents in marine ecosystem.
Highlights
Since the widespread production of antibiotics in 1940s, the irrational and abuse of antibiotics has brought about the amazing growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the world to a great extent [1]
The reason may be that the active adsorption sites on the surface of activated carbon (AC) and sludge biochar produced at 700 °C (SB700) are more likely to contact with SMX molecules when the addition of AC and SB700 are low
As the initial concentration of SMX increased from 0.5 mg L-1 to 50 mg L-1, the unit Qe of AC and SB700 increased by 9871–9938% and 1344– 3388%
Summary
Since the widespread production of antibiotics in 1940s, the irrational and abuse of antibiotics has brought about the amazing growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the world to a great extent [1]. Antibiotics are widely used in mariculture because they can prevent and control bacterial diseases. The accumulation of antibiotics leads to the production of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in seawater [3]. Sulfonamides are widely used in the mariculture as a result of its inexpensive cost and high bactericidal efficiency [4]. Sulfonamides have been found in 13 main mariculture farms in China, with concentrations ranging from 62.0– 374 ng L-1 [5]. Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a typical veterinary antibiotic, which can accumulate for a long time and contribute to the horizontal gene transfer of ARGs [6]. It is of increasing significance to control the impact of antibiotic pollution in the marine environment on the planetary health of all living things
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