title: Removal of the antibiotic metronidazole by adsorption on various carbon materials from aqueous phase.
abstract: The adsorption of the antibiotic metronidazole (MNZ) on activated carbon (F400), activated carbon cloth (ACF), mesoporous activated carbon (CMK-3), and carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was investigated in this work. The effect of the adsorbent-adsorbate interactions as well as the operating conditions (ionic strength, solution pH, temperature, chemical modification of the adsorbents by HNO3 treatment, and water matrix) on the adsorption capacity were analyzed to substantiate the adsorption mechanism. The adsorption capacity markedly varied as function of the carbon material, decreasing in the following order: F400>ACF>F400-HNO3>CMK-3>MWCNT>MWCNT-HNO3, and depended not only on their surface area and pore size distribution, but also on their chemical nature. The adsorption of MNZ was influenced by the solution pH, but was not significantly affected by the ionic strength and temperature. The adsorption of MNZ was enhanced when the MNZ solutions were prepared using wastewater. Therefore, the electrolytes present in the wastewater cooperated rather than competed with the MNZ molecules for the adsorption sites. Desorption equilibrium data of MNZ on all carbon materials demonstrated that the adsorption was reversible corroborating the weakness of the adsorbent-adsorbate interactions.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. M. Nava No.6, San Luis Potosí, SLP 78210, Mexico.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Carrales-Alvarado
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. M. Nava No.6, San Luis Potosí, SLP 78210, Mexico.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ocampo-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. M. Nava No.6, San Luis Potosí, SLP 78210, Mexico. Electronic address: rlr@uaslp.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leyva-Ramos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rivera-Utrilla
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D014867:Water; D008795:Metronidazole; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Adsorption; Antibiotic metronidazole; Carbon materials; Removal