The removal of ciprofloxacin from water by Alue Naga and Leungah beach sand

Abstract

Ciprofloxacin is one of the antibiotics used in various fields such as medical, pharmaceutical, and aquaculture. Excessive use and waste treatment that is not in accordance with procedures cause antibiotic pollution which is very dangerous for living things. This study aims to determine the ability of Alue Naga and Leungah beach sand to overcome the problem of ciprofloxacin pollution from water. Both beach sand was characterized using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR). Before the adsorption test, a stability test of ciprofloxacin solution was conducted for 6 days of testing with two different temperatures (11°C and 30°C). From the test, it was found that ciprofloxacin tends to remain stable at temperatures ranging from 11°C to 30°C. The adsorption capacity of Alue Naga and Leungah sand was 0.56 mg/g and 0.68 mg/g at 30 mg/L concentration after 3 hours of contact time. Meanwhile, in the adsorption process combined with Fenton-like, the percentage of ciprofloxacin removal in Alue Naga beach sand was 31.78% and Leungah beach sand was 44.3%. From this test, it is concluded that the combination of adsorption and Fenton-like methods enhances the capability of adsorbents to effectively remove contaminated ciprofloxacin antibiotics from water.