Investigation of the Effect of Nanoparticles in the Cephalexin adsorption onto Walnut Shell-based Activated Carbon

Background and purpose: Recently, release of pollutants such as pharmaceuticals to the environment becomes one of the most important problems for soil and water. The present study was conducted to introduce walnut shell-based activated carbon (AC) as a new low-cost adsorbent for the removal of cephalexin (CFX) antibiotic from aqueous solutions. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in laboratory scale. To investigation of the morphology of the prepared walnut shell AC and nanoparticles, scanning electron microscopy analysis was applied. The effect of the presence of Fe۲O۳ and SiO۲ nanoparticles on the adsorption of CFX on the walnut shell AC is also studied. Results: The maximum removal efficiency (RE) was obtained ۹۸.۴% at ۱۰۰ mg/L initial CFX concentration and decreased to ۷۲.۹% with increasing in the initial CFX concentration to ۲۰۰ mg/L. The results showed that the presence of nanoparticles in the optimum increased the RE of CFX by about ۲.۱ and ۶.۵% for Fe۲O۳ and SiO۲ nanoparticles, respectively. Conclusion: Results suggest the potential of using the walnut shell AC as an adsorbent for effective treatment of pharmaceutical-contaminated wastewaters.

Keywords:

Batch Adsorption , Cephalexin , Nanoparticle , Activated Carbon , Walnut Shell