Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Water by Tomato Waste as Novel Promising Biosorbent: Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics

Abstract

Tomato waste was studied as a low-cost biosorbent for the removal of five pharmaceuticals (dexamethasone, febantel, procaine, praziquantel, and tylosin) from water. Tomato waste was characterized chemically and microstructurally before and after simulated sorption. Sorption performance was interpreted as a function of the initial pharmaceuticals concentration, temperature, and physicochemical properties of the tomato waste. The linear, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms were used to describe the experimental results at different temperatures (298, 303, and 308 K). Thermodynamic parameters such as standard free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy change (ΔH°), and entropy change (ΔS°) were determined. Negative values of ΔG° in the temperature range of 298–308 K strongly indicate the spontaneous nature of the biosorption process. In addition, the values of ΔH° for the biosorption of dexamethasone, procaine, praziquantel, and tylosin on tomato waste were negative, indicating exothermic processes, while the positive value for febantel indicated an endothermic process. The kinetic data were analyzed using (i) kinetic models to determine the kinetic parameters (Lagergren’s pseudo-first order and Ho’s pseudo-second order) and (ii) adsorption–diffusion models to the describe transport mechanisms of pharmaceuticals from aqueous solution onto tomato waste as adsorbent (Weber–Morris intraparticle diffusion and Boyd film diffusion models).

Evaluation of Phenobarbital Adsorption Efficiency on Biosorbents or Activated Carbon Obtained from Adansonia Digitata Shells

“…The plot of q e versus t1/2 (Figure 7) shows that PHB retention on all our adsorbents involve several steps. Mutavdžić Pavlović et al (2021), [40] found that the emerging contaminant PHB was retained on adsorbents following three limiting steps: external diffusion of PHB from the bulk solution to the external surface of the adsorbent; internal diffusion of PHB through the pores of the adsorbent; last step achievement of the equilibrium.…”