Single-step pyrolysis of phosphoric acid-activated chitin for efficient adsorption of cephalexin antibiotic

Khanday WA 1 , Ahmed MJ 2 , Okoye PU 3 , Hummadi EH 4 , Hameed BH 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Chemistry, Govt. Degree College, Anantnag 192102, Jammu & Kashmir, India
  • 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Engineering College, Baghdad University, P.O. Box 47024, Aljadria, Baghdad, Iraq
  • 3 School of Science, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, Liaoning, China
  • 4 Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baqubah, Iraq
  • 5 School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: chbassim@usm.my
Bioresour Technol, 2019 May;280:255-259.
PMID: 30772638 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.02.003

Abstract

Cephalexin (CFX) antibiotic, a potent pharmaceutical water pollutant, was efficiently removed by activated carbon (AC) derived from a single-step pyrolysis of phosphoric acid-activated chitin. Experimental conditions such as temperature, CFX initial concentration, and solution pH were screened in batch adsorption. Phosphoric acid activation of chitin and subsequent pyrolysis tailored the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, total pore volume, and average pore diameter to 1199.02 m2/g, 0.641 cm3/g, and 21.37 Å, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm adequately described the equilibrium data for CFX adsorption on chitin-AC, with an R2 of 0.99 and a monolayer capacity of 245.19 mg/g at 50 °C. Chitin-AC showed higher adsorption capacity compared with other ACs derived from industrial and agricultural precursors. When activated by phosphoric acid, chitin-AC featured functional multi-sites for vast antibiotic adsorption treatment. Overall, chitin-AC could be a promising adsorbent for removal of CFX.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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