Removal of antibiotic agent from aqueous solutions by adsorption

In this study, experiments were carried out on the removal of antibiotics, which cause pollution especially in aquatic and terrestrial environments, by adsorption method. Within the scope of the study, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline antibiotic agents were selected. Sepiolite was modified with a cationic surfactant (CTAB) and used as an adsorbent. SEM, XRD and FTIR analyzes were performed for the adsorbent. In the adsorption process, parameters affecting adsorption such as initial concentration, pH, temperature, contact time, adsorbent concentration were investigated. The antibiotic removal process with CTAB modified sepiolite was determined to fit the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo second-order kinetic model. In the study, the maximum adsorption capacity value was found to be 108,62 mg/g for ciprofloxacin at 25oC and 162,45 mg/g for tetracycline at 45oC, according to the Langmuir isotherm. It has been determined that the selected adsorbent can be reused by regeneration. As a result, it was concluded that natural, cheap and abundant sepiolite can be made a better adsorbent by increasing the adsorption capacity with various modifications and can be used in antibiotic removal.