Adsorption of Paracetamol in Hospital Wastewater Through Activated Carbon Filters

Abstract

In recent years, pharmaceutical products have been causing a serious environmental problem in hospital wastewater and water purification plants. The elimination of these pollutants is difficult due to their resistance to biological degradation. Paracetamol has been detected in higher concentrations in hospital wastewater than in other buildings. Activated carbons are a good material for removing paracetamol from hospital wastewater. One of the starting materials to obtain activated carbons is kenaf, which is an easy plant to cultivate. To study the elimination of paracetamol from hospital wastewater by activated carbon, the textural and chemical characterization of activated carbon, as well as the kinetic study and the analysis of the paracetamol adsorption mechanism by the adsorbent, have been carried out. The activated carbon samples studied are micro-mesoporous, with high specific surface values. The chemical composition with presence of oxygen groups favours the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics were adjusted to a pseudo-second order model. The adsorption mechanism followed the intraparticular diffusion model, carried out in two stages: a fast first stage on the surface of the adsorbent and a slow one inside the pore. Based on the kinetic study, the use of this type of carbon is a good application for the removal of paracetamol from hospital wastewater.

Carbon Nanomaterials for the Treatment of Heavy Metal-Contaminated Water and Environmental Remediation

“…Maguana et al prepared activated carbon from the pear seed cake and successfully applied it for the removal of methylene having an adsorption capacity of 260 mg/g [157]. Antonio et al prepared activated carbon from the kenaf plant and applied it successfully for the treatment of the wastewater of hospitals containing paracetamol as the main pollutant [158]. The above literature suggests that the activated carbon is the pretty useful economical material which can easily be prepared and it has immense application in environmental remediations.…”

Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetland for Greywater Treatment and Reuse: An Experimental Case

“…In addition to reducing water consumption, a possible solution can be the reuse of treated wastewater (WW) produced by human activities [15][16][17]. The WW presents a very large number of contaminants such as dyes, surfactants, heavy metals, drugs, personal care products and bacteria [18][19][20][21][22][23]. To date, there are numerous treatments to remove the contaminants present in the WW, but there is still little attention to the possible reuse of treated water.…”

Resíduo Hospitalar E Seu Impacto: Uma Revisão Da Literatura

“…Na Intoxicação ou contaminação por produtos químicos, fármacos ou quimioterápicos destaca-se a presença de: contrastes radiológicos (BOROWSKA, FELIS e ŻABCZYŃSKI;MENDOZA et al, 2015), anti-inflamatórios Diclofenaco (BOJANOWSKA-CZAJKA et al, 2015) e analgésico e antipirético Paracetamol (MACÍAS-GARCÍA et al, 2019;FERCHICHI e DHAOUADI, 2016).…”