This study addresses the growing concern about the high levels of antibiotics in water, outlining an alternative for their removal. The adsorption of four representative antibiotics from commonly used families (fluoroquinolones, β-lactams, trimethoprim, and sulfonamides) was performed over vegetal powdered activated carbon. The evolution of the adsorption was studied during 60 min for different initial antibiotic concentrations, not only individually but also simultaneously to determine competitive adsorption. Moreover, this research studied the adsorption isotherms and kinetics of the process, as well as the pH influence; FTIR of the activated carbon before and after adsorption was carried out. Trimethoprim and sulfadiazine showed more affinity for the adsorbent than amoxicillin and enrofloxacin. This trend might be attributed to their structure, capable of stablishing stronger π-π interactions with the adsorbent, which showed high affinity for the active sites of the adsorbent via FTIR. In addition, the sorption isotherms of trimethoprim followed a Langmuir type isotherm, amoxicillin followed a Freundlich type isotherm, and enrofloxacin and sulfadiazine followed both. The antibiotics followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Sulfadiazine and amoxicillin gave better performances in acidic conditions. By contrast, the sorption of trimethoprim was favored in basic environments. Variations of pH had a negligible effect on the removal of enrofloxacin.
Keywords: Antibiotics removal; Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs); Fluoroquinolones; Powdered activated carbon (PAC); Sulfonamides; Trimethoprim; β-Lactams.