Removal of emerging pharmaceutical contaminants by adsorption in a fixed-bed column: A review

Pharmaceutical pollutants substantially affect the environment; thus, their treatments have been the focus of many studies. In this article, the fixed-bed adsorption of pharmaceuticals on various adsorbents was reviewed. The experimental breakthrough curves of these pollutants under various flow rates, inlet concentrations, and bed heights were examined. Fixed-bed data in terms of saturation uptakes, breakthrough time, and the length of the mass transfer zone were included. The three most popular breakthrough models, namely, Adams Bohart, Thomas, and Yoon Nelson, were also reviewed for the correlation of breakthrough curve data along with the evaluation of model parameters. Compared with the Adams Bohart model, the Thomas and Yoon Nelson more effectively predicted the breakthrough data for the studied pollutants.