Green synthesis of ZnO coated hybrid biochar for the synchronous removal of ciprofloxacin and tetracycline in wastewater

Abstract

Preparation of biochar from kaolinite and coconut husk (KCB) and further activated with HCl (KCB-A) and KOH (KCB-B) via a microwave technique for the remediation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and tetracycline (TET) from water was carried out.

Adsorption of Frequently Used Antibiotics From Contaminated Water Using Peanut Shells

“…The pHpzc is the pH at which the charge on the adsorbent in solution is zero. It determines the ease with which the adsorbent adsorbs pollutants (Egbedina et al 2021). The pH at the point of zero charge (Fig.…”

“…1) was determined to be 6.5 suggesting that at a pH value below this, the charge on the adsorbent is positive and above this pHpzc value, it becomes negative. A positive net surface charge favours the adsorption of anions while a negative surface charge favours the adsorption of cations due to electrostatic interactions between the adsorbent and the adsorbate (Egbedina et al 2021).…”

“…5). At this pH, TET and PS are negatively charged in the basic medium, with TET occurring as a divalent anionic species (Egbedina et al 2021). Therefore, it is anticipated that in these circumstances, the repulsion mechanism will be engaged, resulting in a reduction in adsorption.…”

“…Pharmaceuticals such as tetracycline (TET) and amoxicillin (AMX) are two of the most widely used and detected antibiotics in water streams globally (Ahmad et al 2021;Mohammed et al 2020;Offiong et al 2019). They are used in medical therapy as well as the treatment and feeding of livestock (Kim et al 2020) and are categorized as important emerging pollutants (Egbedina et al 2021) owing to their low biodegradability, high persistence and severe adverse effects caused to living organisms (Soori et al 2016;Vu et al 2020). Their presence in the environment has been reported to inhibit the growth of aquatic species, adversely affecting human health causing diseases such as nephropathy, endocrine disruption and more recently, an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections (Xu et al 2021;Yang et al 2020).…”

“…Due to its effectiveness and cost-efficiency, adsorption is the most commonly used method in recent times. Adsorption processes are simple to design, easy to operate and can be easily incorporated with other wastewater treatment methods (Egbedina et al 2021).…”