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Effect of hydrophobicity of pharmaceuticals and personal care products for adsorption on activated carbon: Adsorption isotherms, kinetics and mechanism

  • Water: From Pollution to Purification
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Abstract

Adsorption of three pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), namely caffeine, ibuprofen and triclosan on commercial powdered activated carbon was examined in aqueous medium. The contaminants were chosen based on their diverse log Kow (octanol-water partition coefficient) viz. − 0.07 for caffeine, 3.97 for ibuprofen and 4.76 for triclosan to examine the role of hydrophobicity on adsorption process. The adsorbent characterisation was achieved using BET surface area, SEM, pore size distribution studies and FTIR. Influence of mass of PAC, contact time, solution pH and initial concentration on adsorption capacity of PAC was studied. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics were applied to establish the mechanism of adsorption. The kinetics followed pseudo-second order with physisorption occurring through particle diffusion. The Freundlich model fitted best among the isotherm models. The adsorption capacity increased in the order CFN < IBU < TCS which correlates with increasing hydrophobicity (log Kow), molecular weight and decreasing water solubility, respectively. We conclude that micro-pollutant hydrophobicity contributes towards adsorption on activated carbon.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Director, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, for providing the financial support and kind permission to carry out this study.

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  1. CSIR - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, India

    Harkirat Kaur, Amit Bansiwal, Girivyankatesh Hippargi & Girish R. Pophali

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  1. Harkirat Kaur
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  2. Amit Bansiwal
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  3. Girivyankatesh Hippargi
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  4. Girish R. Pophali
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Correspondence to Amit Bansiwal.

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Kaur, H., Bansiwal, A., Hippargi, G. et al. Effect of hydrophobicity of pharmaceuticals and personal care products for adsorption on activated carbon: Adsorption isotherms, kinetics and mechanism. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 20473–20485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0054-7

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