Removal of Emerging Contaminants as Diclofenac and Caffeine Using Activated Carbon Obtained from Argan Fruit Shells

Activated carbons from argan nutshells were prepared by chemical activation using phosphoric acid H3PO4. This material was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectrometry, and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. The adsorption of two emerging compounds, a stimulant caffeine and an...

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Published inApplied sciences Vol. 12; no. 6; p. 2922
Main Authors Bouhcain, Badr, Carrillo-Peña, Daniela, El Mansouri, Fouad, Ez Zoubi, Yassine, Mateos, Raúl, Morán, Antonio, Quiroga, José María, Zerrouk, Mohammed Hassani
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2022
Subjects
Activated carbon
Adsorbates
Adsorbents
Adsorption
Anti-inflammatory agents
Antibiotics
Aqueous solutions
argan nutshells
By products
Caffeine
Chemicals
Contaminants
Diclofenac
Distilled water
Dynamic tests
emerging contaminants
Experiments
Fruits
Inflammation
Infrared analysis
Infrared spectroscopy
Mathematical models
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Nutshells
Personal grooming
Pharmaceuticals
Phosphoric acid
Pollutant removal
Pollutants
Reptiles & amphibians
Seeds
Spectrometry
Spectrum analysis
Thermogravimetric analysis
Water treatment
Morocco
United States > US
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Summary:Activated carbons from argan nutshells were prepared by chemical activation using phosphoric acid H3PO4. This material was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectrometry, and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. The adsorption of two emerging compounds, a stimulant caffeine and an anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, from distilled water through batch and dynamic tests was investigated. Batch mode experiments were conducted to assess the capacity of adsorption of caffeine and diclofenac from an aqueous solution using the carbon above. Adsorption tests showed that the equilibrium time is 60 and 90 min for diclofenac and caffeine, respectively. The adsorption of diclofenac and caffeine on activated carbon from argan nutshells is described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The highest adsorption capacity determined by the mathematical model of Langmuir is about 126 mg/g for diclofenac and 210 mg/g for caffeine. The thermodynamic parameters attached to the studied absorbent/adsorbate system indicate that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic for diclofenac and endothermic for caffeine.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app12062922