Adsorption of berberine by polymeric resin H103: kinetics and thermodynamics

Resin adsorption is a promising technology for pharmaceutical removal from wastewater. In this study, polymeric adsorption resin H103 was studied for the removal of berberine from pharmaceutical wastewater. The effects of adsorption temperature, initial pH and equilibrium time on adsorption were investigated. It was found that the optimal temperature, pH and equilibrium time were 343 K, 7.0, and 8 h, respectively, for berberine removal by H103 adsorption. The adsorption kinetics of berberine by H103 could be simulated by first-order kinetic model. The results show that adsorption rate was dependent on both film diffusion and intra-particle diffusion, which limited the adsorption rate when the H103 dosage was less than 2.0 g. When H103 dosage was more than 2.0 g, the film diffusion became the only control factor of adsorption rate. The adsorption isotherms could be expressed by Freundlich model very well indicating that the adsorption of berberine by H103 was a spontaneous and endothermic process.