ADSORPTIVE REMOVAL OF ANTIBIOTICS FROM WATER SAMPLE AND SEWAGE TREATMENT EFFLUENT USING BIOCHAR

Abstract

 Adsorptive removal of nine antibiotics from water sample and sewage treatment effluent was investigated using biochar (BC) derived from durian peel. Although adsorption capacities of BC for antibiotics in water sample were lower compared to commercial activated carbon (AC), antibiotics concentrations were decreased with an increase in BC dosage. Adsorption isotherm and kinetics of BC for clarithromycin were fitted to Langmuir model and pseudo second order rate model. Maximum adsorption capacity was 5.16 mg/g, which was comparable to the result from other study. Adsorption efficiency of antibiotics except sulfamethoxazole in sewage treatment effluent increased with an increase in BC dosage and showed more than 80%. Therefore, BC would be useful as environmentally friendly adsorbent for antibiotics removal from the effluent applied to agriculture.