Abstract
A readily separated composite was prepared via direct assembly of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) (labeled as Fe3O4@GO) and used as an adsorbent for the removal of tetracycline (TC) from wastewater. The effects of external environmental conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, humic acid (HA), TC concentration, and temperature, on the adsorption process were studied. The adsorption data were analyzed by kinetics and isothermal models. The results show that the Fe3O4@GO composite has excellent sorptive properties and can efficiently remove TC. At low pH, the adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@GO toward TC decreases slowly with increasing pH value, while the adsorption capacity decreases rapidly at higher pH values. The ionic strength has insignificant effect on TC adsorption. The presence of HA affects the affinity of Fe3O4@GO to TC. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir model fit the adsorption data well. When the initial concentration of TC is 100 mg/L, a slow adsorption process dominates. Film diffusion is the rate limiting step of the adsorption. Importantly, Fe3O4@GO has good regeneration performance. The above results are of great significance to promote the application of Fe3O4@GO in the treatment of antibiotic wastewater.
Highlights
In recent years, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been frequently detected in the environment, and they have attracted scrutiny as a new type of pollutant that threatens the biosphere and human health [1,2]
The morphology of the samples was examined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM, Tecnai-G2-F20, FEI, Hillsboro, OR, USA) with an acceleration voltage of 200 kV
Fe3 O4 (74.0 emu/g) reported by Huang et al [2]. This may be due to that the Fe3 O4 @graphene oxide (GO) is composed of composed of the non-magnetic and the magnetic
Summary
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been frequently detected in the environment, and they have attracted scrutiny as a new type of pollutant that threatens the biosphere and human health [1,2]. In the process of biological metabolism, the vast majority of TCs is discharged through feces and urine directly from the body and, into the water environment [10]. This damages the aquatic ecosystem and induces the generation of resistant genes in the environment, resulting in continuous pollution [11]. It has been used in the fields of medicine, cell biology, analytical chemistry, mining and environmental technology [23] Some magnetic materials, such as Fe3 O4 and γ-Fe2 O3 , can be coupled with GO to impart magnetic properties to the adsorbent, and the adsorbent can be separated from the reaction medium through the use of a magnetic field. An adsorption mechanism was developed based on kinetics and isothermal models, and the reusability of the coupling material was studied
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