New nanostructured activated biochar for effective removal of antibiotic ciprofloxacin from wastewater: Adsorption dynamics and mechanisms

Developing green inexpensive and effective adsorbents is critically needed for elimination of antibiotics from contaminated water. The current study assessed the nanostructured activated biochar (nPPAB) derived from pomegranate peels (PP) as a promising sorbent for efficient removal of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP). The results affirm that the second order and Langmuir models fit well to adsorption kinetics and equilibrium data respectively. The nPPAB adsorption capacity of Langmuir (qmax) for CIP was 142.86 mg g-1 which is 26.85 times greater than that of bulk PP. Hydrogen bonding, pi-pi interaction, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are the dominant mechanisms of CIP adsorption by nPPAB. The efficiency of nPPAB for CIP removal from real wastewater using batch and packed-bed reactor were 89.94 and 84.74% respectively. This study clearly demonstrated the substantial capacity of nPPAB as an ecofriendly, feasible, and in-expensive adsorbent for successful elimination of CIP from wastewater.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the use of nanostructured activated biochar derived from pomegranate peels as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of ciprofloxacin. The results showed that the biochar had a high adsorption capacity and efficiency, and utilized multiple mechanisms for the adsorption of ciprofloxacin. This research clearly demonstrated the substantial potential of nanostructured activated biochar as an eco-friendly, feasible, and inexpensive adsorbent for the successful removal of ciprofloxacin from wastewater.