title: Adsorption of Selected Pharmaceutical Compounds onto Activated Carbon in Dilute Aqueous Solutions Exemplified by Acetaminophen, Diclofenac, and Sulfamethoxazole.
abstract: The adsorption of three pharmaceuticals, namely, acetaminophen, diclofenac, and sulfamethoxazole onto granular activated carbon (GAC), was investigated. To study competitive adsorption, both dynamic and steady-state adsorption experiments were conducted by careful selection of pharmaceuticals with various affinities and molecular size. The effective diffusion coefficient of the adsorbate was increased with decease in particle size of GAC. The adsorption affinity represented as Langmuir was consistent with the ranking of the octanol-water partition coefficient, K(ow). The adsorption behavior in binary or tertiary systems could be described by competition adsorption. In the binary system adsorption replacement occurred, under which the adsorbate with the smaller K(ow) was replaced by the one with larger K(ow). Results also indicated that portion of the micropores could be occupied only by the small target compound, but not the larger adsorbates. In multiple-component systems the competition adsorption might significantly be affected by the macropores and less by the meso- or micropores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
authors.forename: E-E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jan-Chi
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Environmental System Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunook
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1256-480X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Carbon Cycle Research Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Huei
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yung-Dun
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan ; Carbon Cycle Research Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pen-Chi
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chiang
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000737:chemistry*; D000327:Adsorption; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D012996:Solutions; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012996:Solutions; D004008:Diclofenac; D000082:Acetaminophen; D002244:Carbon; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole