Study on the Application of Shell-Activated Carbon for the Adsorption of Dyes and Antibiotics

Abstract

In this study, we prepared homemade fruit shell-activated carbon (SAC) with efficient adsorption of new pollutants and used it in the removal of methylene blue dye (MB) and ofloxacin antibiotic (OFL) in water. We fitted the experimental data for MB and OFL adsorption with isothermal and kinetic models and performed extensive characterization to study the properties of SAC. We also studied the effects of solution pH, dosage amount, initial concentration, and coexisting ions on the adsorption capacity. The results show that SAC has a rich pore structure, and electrostatic interactions are its main adsorption mechanism. Adjusting the solution pH by changing the SAC dosage and removing the K+, SO42−, and Cu2+ could increase the removal of MB and OFL to 99.9% and 97.6%, respectively. In addition, the adsorption capacity of SAC for MB remained at more than 50% of the initial state after three iterations of adsorption regeneration, showing a good regeneration ability. These results show the potential of SAC in replacing conventional activated carbon to remove new pollutants.