Removal of Amoxicillin from an Aqueous Solution by Activated Carbon Prepared from Biomass

Amoxicillin type Amox-500 is a & beta;-lactam antibiotic belonging to the penicillin family, used to treat infections caused by bacteria. This drug has been, purified by the slow recrystallization method and characterized by RA -MAN. The treatment of antibiotic-laden effluent is of interest for environmental protection, which is why the field of wastewater treatment is essential for the protection of our environment. In our research, we studied the elimina-tion of amoxicillin as a trace pollutant in untreated wastewater discharges in an aqueous solution prepared in the laboratory, using activated carbon made from banana peel. We also showed the presence of these pharmaceutical pollutants (amoxicillin and paracetamol) in wastewater from the Dradeb area of the city of Tangier in Morocco. In this research, we took advantage of the use of activated carbon, which has been, previously treated in our laboratory for a study, which is, published [Abdellah Touijer et al, 2023]. The amount of amoxicillin adsorption is influenced by various operating parameters, and with the help of a parametric study, we have deduced the best conditions from these parameters to promote good amoxicillin adsorption yield. The amount adsorbed at equilib-rium increases proportionally with amoxicillin concentration, and equilibrium is reached after the first 20 min. The maximum equilibrium amoxicillin adsorption capacity (qe) is 35 mg/g for PBC600 (banana peel carbonized at 600 & DEG;C for 60 min) and PBC700 (banana peel carbonized at 700 & DEG;C for 60 min), and 25 mg/g for PBC500 (banana peel carbonized at 500 & DEG;C for 60 min). Under the following operating conditions: C0 = 20 mg/l, temperature 20 & PLUSMN;5 & DEG;C, pH=6 lower than pHpzc, adsorbent/adsorbat ratio 0.5 mg/ml, stirring time 45 min. The best adsorption efficiency was 85.2% for PBC700, 79.31% for PBC600 and 12.47% for PBC500, indicating that the amount of amoxicillin adsorbed at equilibrium is proportional to the carbonization temperature. The theoretical study of the adsorption isotherm of amoxicillin on activated carbon prepared from banana peel shows that the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models describe this adsorption phenomenon well, similar to the experimental results. Adsorption of amoxicillin follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic analysis has shown that standard enthalpy (& UDelta;H & DEG;), standard free enthalpy (& UDelta;G & DEG;), and free entropy (& UDelta;S & DEG;) are negative values, allowing us to say that this adsorption process is spontaneous and favorable, meaning the decrease in disorder.