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Removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfapyridine (SPY) from aqueous solutions by biochars derived from anaerobically digested bagasse

  • Environmental functions of biochar
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Abstract

This study explored the sorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfapyridine (SPY) onto biochars produced from raw and anaerobically digested bagasse. Initial evaluation of six bagasse biochars showed that digested bagasse biochar prepared at 600 °C (DBG600) was the best adsorbent to remove SMX and SPY. Further laboratory batch sorption experiments showed that DBG600 adsorbed SMX and SPY from aqueous solution with maximum adsorption capacity of 54.38 and 8.60 mg g−1, respectively. Solution pH showed strong effect on the sorption ability of DBG600 to the two antibiotics, and the sorption decreased with increasing of solution pH. Experimental and model results suggested that adsorption of SMX and SPY onto DBG600 might be controlled by the π–π interaction.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the NSF through grant CBET-1054405, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) through grant 51402018, and the National Key Program for Basic Research of China through grant 2015CB251100.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Ying Yao, Yan Zhang, Renjie Chen & Feng Wu

  2. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Ying Yao & Bin Gao

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  1. Ying Yao
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  2. Yan Zhang
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  3. Bin Gao
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  4. Renjie Chen
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  5. Feng Wu
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Correspondence to Bin Gao.

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Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

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Yao, Y., Zhang, Y., Gao, B. et al. Removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfapyridine (SPY) from aqueous solutions by biochars derived from anaerobically digested bagasse. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 25659–25667 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8849-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8849-0

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